Trapped in a Strange New World (SG1-1)
by SGxElPsyKongroo-0-PWxObjection
Summary: Kurisu wakes up one morning to find herself in uncharted waters. A brand new worldline which even Okabe with all his time jumping never had the chance to experience. This is a reality that has really thrown her life into chaos, but probably not for the reasons you would expect. One question still remains though. Who sent Kurisu to this worldline? And why? - (Set in Anime Universe)
1. Chapter 1

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter One

2012.07.21 - 7:45 AM JST  
Saturday

The morning sun slowly crept onto the surface of my eyelids as I laid in bed after a rough sleep the previous night. A few minutes later I finally built up the energy and willpower to open my eyes to the outside world, just to get assaulted by the same blinding light that was responsible for waking me up in the first place. Thankfully, it only took only a few seconds for my eyesight to adjust to this over abundance of sunlight. This revealed the bedroom of my Tokyo apartment. I rented this place from time to time as my stays here in Japan became longer and more permanent as time went on. It wasn't quite as nice as a hotel, but it made much more economic sense. It was at about this time when that major headache first hit me. The pain felt strangely familiar… I just couldn't place it. Fearing what could have happened, I tried thinking back to the day before. My memory seemed to cut off at about 8 PM. My spine shook with terror.

"No… Okabe didn't get me drunk did he…?" I muttered this thought under my breath. I never even considered this a threat before. I clenched my left hand into an iron fist. "That man… that… that… IDIOT!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

I swiftly got out of bed and pulled out my cell phone. My plan initially was to have a good long chat with Mr. El Psy Kongroo and give him a piece of my mind… while also hopefully scaring him half to death in the process. I went ahead and opened my contacts list to call Okabe and froze at what I saw. Right at the top of the list, it read "Papa" in big bold capital letters. I continued to stare at my phone is disbelief. I hated my father so much to the degree that I never actually kept his number on my phone. It was a simple act of repulsion. Even under the influence of alcohol, I am under the firm belief that I would pass out long before I would become stupid enough to do something like this. I did memorize his cell number at one point in case of an emergency. I still remember it all these years later. However, the sad truth is that man is the last person I'd call in any such situation.

After I calmed down a bit, I had some time to think more clearly. I picked up my phone once more and spent a good twenty minutes simply browsing the enormous collection of names and numbers. Things got weird very quickly. There were plenty of people missing from the list that should be there as well as people added to the list that I don't remember ever meeting. I also managed to find a few of the lab members in my contacts too. This included Okabe. I sighed in relief when I saw this. Clearly, everything wasn't what it seemed. At this point in time, it appeared to be a very likely possibility that I had somehow landed in another worldline. The headache helped support this theory. I just have no idea how this happened as according to Okabe, the Phone Wave got disassembled almost two years ago. Regardless, this certainly did look like an alternate worldline. If this is true, I needed all the help I could get. However, this good news about Okabe failed to fully free me from the uneasy feelings I was still experiencing. I scrolled my phone cursor back up to the top of the list to check on something that had caught my eye. Unsurprisingly, it was still there. In the third contact slot, the name "Violet" was displayed. What made this such a big deal is that as a general rule I usually try to organize the first ten entries of my contacts list in order of convenience. The more frequency I have to call someone, the higher up I put that person on the list. Most often this category includes some close friends as well as my Mom and maybe the occasional coworker. This is why I felt so weird seeing this. I had literally no idea who on earth this could be referring to. I don't think I've even met anyone with that name before and if I did it was in one of those short flyby conversations you completely forget five minutes afterwards. At least I knew who my father was, regardless of how little we talked. This is why in the strangest way, I felt awfully tempted to give this "Violet" person a call. I mean, I have her phone number right in front of me. It wouldn't be that hard. All I have to do is press talk. What's the worst thing that could happen?

After over five minutes of arguing with myself over the pros and cons regarding this decision, I finally had enough and just pressed the button to start the call. The other phone rang for a few seconds before the person on the other end picked up. An enthusiastic female voice then began speaking over the phone.  
Could this be her?

"Hey, Kurisu! What's up?" Violet spoke in perfect English with a clear American accent. Despite her English name, this was something I wasn't really expecting from a Japanese cell phone number. The surprise threw off me slightly causing my voice to become a bit weak and shaky. Since she used my name, I decided to reply using hers.

"W-well not much, Violet." I said crossing my fingers that I didn't sound too suspicious. "I-Is there anything wrong with giving you a call once in awhile to see how you're doing?"

I silently cursed myself for saying something so dumb and cliche. I don't know anything about Violet other than her name and that could be just a nickname or something. I don't even know how close our relationship is. Why did I think this was a good idea? I could hear Violet sigh with one heavy exhale before speaking again. I braced myself for her response.

"Not much I guess…" She said with a more serious tone. "We do call each other quite often. It's just rather rare I get to hear from you on a Saturday morning… at quarter after eight no less."

Wait… how the heck does Violet know anything about my Friday night sleeping habits? Only my parents are aware of this stuff. Exactly how close are we? Childhood friends or something? Did we have some kind of sleepover sometime in the past? I decided to stop thinking so hard. I needed to play along with this for now.

"Right… I am a bit of a sleepy head on weekends." I admitted.

"Exactly." Violet so bluntly put it. "Look I would love to talk more, but you kinda called me at a bad time… I start work in under five minutes, you know?"

"Really? I'm so sorry about that. We can end our conversation right here if you like."

"I think it would be the best if we did that. On a slightly different note, I would really enjoy the opportunity to see you again. These phone calls are nice, but it's not the quite same as talking in person."

"Okay… where do you want to meet up?"

"If I remember correctly, there's a MgRonalds a few blocks away from your apartment. Would you be able to make there for say around noon?"

I knew which restaurant she was referring to. Truly it wasn't a terrible distance away, especially for Japanese standards. I blindly agreed.

"Yeah. I don't see any problems. That should work."

"Fantastic!" Violet bounced back to her previous happy state from when she first picked up. After that, there were a few seconds of silence before she continued speaking. "Wow it's 8:17 already, I really need to go now." She said with a touch of stress.

"Understood. I'll see you later then."

"Remember, sis. Twelve o'clock. Be there."

With that final statement Violet hang up her phone and the called ended.

That was probably the most intense conversation I had ever partaken in. It was nice now to be able to take a breather after such an event. Also pleasantly, some good did come out of this. In just a few hours, I'll actually get to meet this person I've been so curious about. Now that I got that over with, in the meantime, I should really get over to the lab ASAP. Hopefully, Okabe will aware something is wrong thanks to his Reading Steiner ability. From there the two of us can work together and fix this mess. I walked over to my main suitcase to pick out a new outfit to wear for the day. As I was scouring through my wardrobe, what Violet said at the very end of the call suddenly registered. I nearly fell over in shock. I did quickly consider the fact she could have simply meant it in a sang context. However, my judgment had become clouded at the time due to all this confusion so I wasn't really thinking straight. Plus I did think this conclusion made a lot of sense after reflecting a bit on her behaviour towards me. This worldline was becoming more and more bizarre every second I stayed here. This could very well be the truth. That possibility really frightened me for some reason I couldn't get quite grasp on. No one had died or anything. To most people, this would actually be GOOD news, but I still felt very uneasy thinking about it. This was one question I really wanted an answer to. Actually no… I needed an answer to this. With no one around to hear me, I finally spoke this question aloud.

"In this worldline… I have a sister?"

******  
(Chapter Two: Out Now!)


	2. Chapter 2

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Two

2012.07.21 - 11:50 AM JST  
Saturday

I arrived at the MgRonalds with about ten minutes left on the clock. In the last few hours following my phone call with Violet, the feeling of shock regarding my current situation had mostly gone away. I still found myself a bit nervous, but I seemed to have more or less regained my composure. I decided to walk over to the counter to order a coffee while I waited for this sister of mine to show up. It was at the moment a familiar voice called out to me from behind.

"Kurisu! Wait a second!" The voice shouted from across the room.

I turned my head to see a young woman running up towards me. Immediately I knew this person was Violet. I wouldn't really say we were twins per se, but I thought it looked pretty obvious that we shared the same parents. Other than a couple distinct features such as her hair colour being much closer to that of my father, it wouldn't be hard to imagine a complete stranger confusing one of us for the other. She also looked to be about two or three years younger than me. As Violet approached, I suddenly realized how awkward my starring must've appeared. I look away just as she arrives in front of me.

"You didn't forget about me, right? I was sitting at our usual spot." Violet asks with a hint of annoyance.

"Sorry. M-my mind has just been elsewhere today." I vaguely answer.

"Yeah. I could tell." She replies.

There was a brief moment of silence until Violet spoke again.

"Anyway, we should order now. Would you like to do the honours, sis?"

I quickly realized I didn't know what Violet would like on her hamburger or if she would want something else entirely from the menu. It was probably the best move to decline.

"No. You go ahead this time. In exchange, I'll pay for both our meals if that's alright."

"O-oh really? Thank you." She said shyly. We then began walking over to the counter.

Once we reached our destination, Violet clears her throat a few times before being addressed by the cashier.

"Hello ladies. Welcome to MgRonalds. What can I get you two today?" He greeted us.

"Could… could we have two quarter… pounder combos." Violet stutters in Japanese.

"One with everything. The… the other with just cheese, tomatoes and… and…" She trails off before sighing in frustration. I then hear her mutter in English. "Pick… pick…"

Violet suddenly nudges me with her elbow. It takes me a few seconds to fully process what she was trying signal with this gesture. Violet's Japanese appeared to be a bit rusty at best and she seemed to be struggling with the word for "pickles". I was about to assist her, but the cashier beat me to it.

"Do you mean pickles, perhaps?" He asked her.

"Y-yes. Cheese, tomatoes and pickles."

"Okay. With that be it for today?"

We nod and he finishes entering the order into the cash register.

"That will be 1660 yen."

I pull in front of Violet and hand over some cash. After receiving the change, the two of us grab our food and sit down near a window on the far side of the restaurant.

"Kurisu…" Violet starts off with a gloomy look on her face.

"We both know very well my Japanese could use a ton of work and I stutter a lot when I'm nervous. I know you had good intentions and I need to improve someday, but please avoid putting me in that kind of situation again. It's too embarrassing."

"R-right." I responded.

I was at a loss for words. I felt horrible after hearing Violet say that. This was something I should have known for most of my life, but thanks to that most recent worldline shift I had no idea about it. Now I was more unsure than ever of whether or not I should reveal the secret of the Phone Wave to Violet. As my sister, she surely had the right to know. That was not in question. I was mostly debating if Violet would even believe me if I did tell her this whole crazy story from the very beginning. I was also considering the possibility that an organization like SERN could still be a threat even in this radically different worldline. I guess the fact we were in such a public place with so many people around eventually pressured me into remaining silent on the matter.

It didn't take long for Violet to forgive me for my blunder and during the thirty to forty minutes that followed, the two of us mainly played catch up with each other. As you might expect, this game is pretty one sided when the other person is currently doubting everything that's happened over the last twenty or so years. This is why whenever Violet asked me a question, I had to either quickly give her a simple vague answer or suddenly change the subject, hopefully without her noticing. That aside, it was still such a strange experience talking to someone who has known you for their entire life, but you know next to nothing about them. Often when Violet said something about me that most other people wouldn't know, I had to consciously remind myself of the current circumstances to avoid any embarrassing outbursts. I chose to stay quiet for the most part and so our discussion mostly revolved around Violet commenting a bit on life as well as a few recent events she thought I might find interesting. Before I knew it, we had finished eating.

"So where are we going next, sis?" Violet asks while raising out of her chair.

"We?"

"Yeah. I thought we could spend the rest of the day together. You aren't busy are you?"

"N-no. It's the weekend so I guess not."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Do you really want to follow me to Akihabara?"

"Wait… Akihabara… isn't that the location of the Future Gadget Laboratory?" She thought out loud. Her face then formed a cocky smile. "Don't tell me this is some sort of secret date with Okabe?" My face turns blood red.

"WHAATTT?! WHY WOULD YOU GET THAT IDEA?!" I scream at the top of my lungs. As I feel heads turning towards me, I take a few deep breaths and calm down. Violet's eyes widened a bit before replying.

"I-I was just joking Kurisu." She barely gets out. "Whether or not you like Okabe is your own business." Violet stops briefly. "Though all things considered, that reaction didn't really help convince me otherwise."

After releasing a soft growl, I sigh and let it go. We proceeded to exit the MgRonalds and head down towards the train station. During this walk, I came to a realization. My original impression of this worldline was that of negativity and confusion. At first, I just wanted to find out what the heck Okabe did with the Phone Wave to cause this whole mess and fix it. However, I wasn't sure if that is what I really wanted anymore. This worldline didn't seem that bad from at this point. I now had a slightly irritating but loving sister and it seemed I still knew Okabe at least to some extent. Even my parents were apparently in a much more stable relationship than previously. Maybe staying here indefinitely wouldn't be the end of the world after all. I quickly throw that thought out of my mind. I had already decided I should consult with Okabe before I do anything. Hopefully, he'll have some idea of what our next move should be.

(Chapter Three: Out Now!)


	3. Chapter 3

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Three

2012.07.21 - 1:17 PM JST  
Saturday

When we got off the train in Akihabara, I was relieved to see not much had changed here between worldlines. Most of the surrounding stores and restaurants at least looked familiar and they all appeared in their normal locations with nothing really appearing out of place. To an extent, it felt just like any other time I've taken a stroll through this part of town. That is until I briefly glanced over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of Violet trailing a few feet behind me. We both stopped.

"Is something wrong, Kursiu?" She asked with a hint of irritation.

"Oh ah… no it's nothing. Sorry."

I shift my eyes back to the sidewalk ahead of me and released a soft sigh. I was starting to think I would never get used to having this girl around. We turned another corner to reveal the Future Gadget Laboratory popping up in the distance. Strangely, I was actually a tiny bit excited to see Okabe for a change. He would still most definitely do everything in his power to annoy the heck out of me regardless of worldline, that was a cosmological certainty. However, that didn't really matter at this point. I knew I needed someone to talk to after such a "fantastic" morning and Okabe was the only person I felt I could safely discuss time travel with under the current circumstances. This was true. Whether I liked it or not.

For the remainder of the walk, I drifted deep into my thoughts and snapped back to reality once we arrived at the top of the staircase leading up to the lab. I stretched out my hand to open the door, but Violet brushes my hand away before I could quite reach the doorknob. She clears her throat again and then starts mumbling something in Japanese.

"Red, White, Blue, Yellow, Green…"  
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five…"

Suddenly it hit me. I remembered Violet clearing her throat in a similar fashion back at the MgRonalds. Now she was rumbling off some basic words in Japanese too. It seemed this was likely how she transitioned from speaking English to speaking Japanese. Maybe Violet couldn't just switch between the two on a dime like I could. After all, it took me many years of practice to finally become this fluent in both languages and I was still learning new things everyday. The frequent visits to Japan during my childhood also helped considerably. Something told me Violet never received the same travel opportunities I did. Once I completed my thoughts, I look up from the floor to see that Violet had turned to face me. She opens her mouth to say something to me when the lab door flies open without warning. Both of us jump in surprise. A figure steps out into view.

"Tutturu. Mayushii knew she heard someone out here." Mayuri said with a gentle smile.  
"Why don't you two come in? Okarin and Daru are over in the other room."

As per Japanese customs, Violet and I remove our shoes upon entry. I thank Mayuri as she closes the door behind us. We walk over to the development room to see Daru typing away at his computer. He had headphones on, so I couldn't tell if he knew we were there. I spin my head around looking for Okabe and spot him passed out on the couch. Violet also trains her eyes on Okabe as well.

"What happened to him?" She blurted out.

"Another all nighter that's what." Daru responded from across the room.  
"Seriously, Okarin can be such a workaholic when he wants to be."  
"I left the lab at like nine o'clock last night. I then arrived back here at 8:30 this morning. I found him still awake."  
"According to him, he stayed up the entire night."

"R-really." Violet says almost speechless.  
"Why… why would he do that? What has he been working on?"

"Beats me." Daru replies with a shrug.  
"Okarin doesn't always share the details of his plans. Even with me."

"Unfortunately, he does tend to do this from time to time." Mayuri comments.  
"It can't be healthy though…" She said with a look of slight concern.

"You should be more grateful to me, Daru." A voice spoke full of exhaustion.  
"There are some things you simply should not know about."  
"At least not yet, anyway."

I trace the sound back to its source to see that Okabe had gotten up from has nap. He sat up on the same couch where he had been snoozing previously. Daru takes a quick glance at Okabe before returning his gaze to the computer.

"Oh look. We've woken his royal highness." Daru says in his usual sarcastic tone.  
"Go back to sleep, Okarin. It was much more peaceful here while you were unconscious."

Okabe was about to retort, but he noticed the presence of Violet and I out of the corner of his eye. He proceeded to stand up.

"Hmm… it appears we've got some company." He announced wearing his trademark mad scientist grin.  
"If it isn't the Makise sisters. Or should I say Christina No. 1 and Christina No. 2."

"What...?"

The word escaped my mouth without thinking. It didn't really matter though because I had said it so softly no one seemed to notice. Violet then took over the conversation.

"I'll never get why you continue to call me that, Okabe."  
"At least I somewhat understand how you got from Kursiu to Christina, but why do call ME that nickname?"

"Haven't I told you already? It's only a temporary measure."  
"When you become a full fledged lab member, maybe I'll consider changing it."

"Umm… Okarin, didn't Violet become a full lab member a while ago?" Mayuri asks in Violet's defense.

"I did, Mayuri. Last year. In January. Do you remember January 2011, Okabe?"

"Well-I-Ah…"

"Violet you need to cool down a bit. Okarin is just trying to get under your skin." Daru spoke to us once more from his computer.  
"I would hope you've learned that after spending so much time here."

"Yeah I know. But…"

At this point I had gotten fed up with just listening to these three banter. I needed to consult with Okabe in private.  
I decided to approach him after Violet had trailed off.

"Okabe we need to talk." I told him sternly.

I then grabbed Okabe by the arm and with much protest I finally managed to drag him onto the roof.

"Ugh. That was quite unlike you, Kurisu." Okabe whined upon reaching the roof.  
"What's this all about?"

"Isn't it obvious? The Phone Wave."

At this point, I had simply assumed Okabe still thought I was the Kurisu from this worldline and I hoped that my reply would convince him to open up a bit.  
Needless to say, his response was quite a shock.

"A. That's the Phone Wave (Name Subject To Change)."  
"B. What about it? Didn't we all agree that project was a dead end?"

******  
(Chapter Four: Out Now!)


	4. Chapter 4

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Four

2012.07.21 - 1:49 PM JST  
Saturday

"Dead end? What do you mean by dead end?" I asked almost on instinct.

"By dead end, I mean dead end. Kaput, done, finished." Okabe told me, a bit irritated by my question. As I continued to give him a look of confusion, he shakes his head and sighs in frustration.

"Don't you remember? Back in May, I realized that development of the device was pretty much at a complete standstill and therefore working on it was a huge waste of valuable lab resources."

"Eventually we all voted to scrap it, including you."  
"In fact if I'm not mistaken, wasn't killing the whole project originally your idea?"

I really didn't want to believe what I had just heard. This Okabe was shockingly not the one I had came all this way to see. It was obvious now that when this most recent worldline shift occurred Okabe's Reading Steiner ability did not kick in for some reason and as a result the man in front of me had no recollection of any previous worldlines at all. Naturally as I stood there, the next thought that entered my mind was whether or not the sudden worldline shift this morning was malicious in nature. Did someone with ill intentions somehow prevent Okabe from getting Reading Steiner in the past so they could further change time as they pleased? If so, why do I remember everything from the last worldline so clearly? I never had Reading Steiner, I only got the occasional memory from other worldlines thanks to that strange deja vu phenomenon which we still don't fully understand. On top of that, these "memories" were more often than not just vague feelings at best. Did my ability get an upgrade? The more and more I thought about this, the less sense it made. What was going on here?

"Kurisu… are you okay? Okabe interrupts my train of thought.  
"Did you hit your head last night or something? Should I call a doctor?"  
"I'm not joking. I'm seriously concerned about you right now."

Truly he was, I could tell by his tone and his expression. This was Okabe Rintarou speaking to me, not Hououin Kyouma. This would actually be quite heartwarming if not for the current circumstances. As I strangled to come up with a response, I heard the sound a crash a few feet away. Okabe noticed it too and we both turn to see Daru and Violet collapsed in the open doorway. Violet immediately tries to defend herself, obviously aware of how she must've appeared given what just happened.

"K-K-K-Kurisu!" She cries out to me.  
"I swear, I was only trying to prevent Daru from spying on you."  
"I wasn't doing anything naughty. You know I respect your privacy."

"Way to paint me as the bad guy right off the bat." Daru replies with a snort.  
"I figured things may have gotten a bit hot between those two."  
"I wanted to take a sneak peek. So what? Sue me."

As Violet aims her death glare at him, Okabe decides now was the perfect time to jump into the conversation.

"Ha. Oh please." He shoots down Daru's bold claim.  
"You know very well I could never get in a romantic relationship with Christiania No. 1."  
"Especially not in secret."

Okabe pauses briefly. An evil smile soon forms on his face.  
"It would prove impossible to keep something like that under wraps for very long."  
"Besides I wouldn't want to spark a sibling rivalry between my assistants, now would I?"

"Like I would lower myself to fight with Kurisu over you of people, Okabe." Violet added in protest.  
"Not to mention, I'm still a minor in case you didn't know. Are you really enough of a low life to date someone underage?"

Okabe takes a few seconds to look into Violet's eyes. He appeared almost speechless.  
"I… I don't actually know if that's a crime here." He hesitantly admitted.

"I've heard that America has a law or something against legal adults dating minors, but I don't know about Japan. We may have something similar. I've never given it much thought."

Okabe pressed his finger against his chin in a typical thinking pose. It appeared he truly wasn't sure after all.  
"We might be able to-"

"I don't care." Violet cuts him off with an angry growl. Her voice definitely showed she was quite shaken up at this point. "I'm not about to ditch my actual boyfriend in America for a chance with anyone at this point. That's final."

I really don't know if at that time Okabe had clued into Violet's worsening emotional melt down. Regardless, he must've thought that this was a good opportunity to continue picking at her. "It's funny, Christina No. 2. Your whole life seems to completely revolve around America. Why do you even waste your time making the long journey across the ocean so often? You never usually spend more than a few days here." Okabe stops to catch a breath. He finishes his taunting with one last arrogant comment.

"Are you really just trying to blow all your father's money on plane tickets or are you experiencing a little culture shock right now?"

Violet looked like she was about to explode. I was wanted to intervene so this argument escalate any further, but it was too late. Violet wiped out her navy blue Japanese passport and proceeded to thrust it in Okabe's face.

"This! This is why I spend so much of my time in this stupid backwards country!"

Violet yells this to the rooftops, which was quite literal considering where we were. After a few seconds she takes a step back from Okabe and manages to calm herself down a bit. Violet's anger disappears as she continues talking, but sadness quickly fills her voice in its place.

"When Kurisu and I were born, our father decided to have us acquire Japanese citizenship instead of American citizenship which we were also eligible for. I've lived in America on a visa for my entire life. That same visa is going to expire permanently when I turn 18 next year. When that happens, I'll be forced to live here and I need to learn to feel like less of an outsider."

Okabe looked genuinely offended by Violet's negative view on Japanese life and culture. He was clearly far too riled up to really listen to what Violet had said and actually take it to heart. What he says next doesn't help improve matters either.

"Well, maybe you can start by not calling this new home of yours stupid and backwards. You sound like a five year old. An American five year old."

On that note, Violet stormed back into the lab in tears. I quickly shot a disapproving glare at Okabe before running in after her. We rush through the living room and right out the front door leading down to the street. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs when I realized I had lost sight of her. Mayuri also exits the lab at this time and runs down to met up with me.

"What happened up there? Why is Violet so upset?"

"Okabe made some rude comments about her life and America."  
"Let's just say it didn't end well."

"That Okarin… he can be so oblivious at times."  
"Even Mayushii has picked up on how sensitive Violet is about her citizenship and national identity."

It was a bit weird hearing Mayuri use such big adult words in her speech. From what I'd seen over the last two years, she usually kept her words more simple than this. Something deep inside told me Mayuri probably already had this conversation with Violet before, almost definitely in a much more private setting. I had nothing new to add at this point and she continued talking.

"Let's go back inside. She should call us when she's ready."  
"Right." I weakly reply.

I turn to climb back up the stairs, when I felt Mayuri lightly tug on my arm. It seemed she had more to say.

"Oh and Kurisu?" She said softly with a small forced smile.  
"I'll talk to Okarin this time, okay? He'll take what I say more seriously."

Not having much to say, I give her a simple nod and we entered the lab once more.

******  
(Chapter Five: Out Now!)

******  
Quick Author's Note:

Hello everybody,

I know this is about four chapters too late, but I see apparently there are people reading my story any of you have the time. I would really appreciate receiving some constructive feedback on my long as your criticism is positive and sincere, I'll take it into consideration. Also please note this story takes place in the universe of the anime. Therefore has all the same pros and cons that adaptation contains. Thank you and good night.

-SGxElPsyKongroo-0-PWxObjection


	5. Chapter 5

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Five

2012.07.21 - 2:24 PM JST  
Saturday

By the time Mayuri and I came back inside, Daru had returned to the computer and resumed his web browsing. Shortly after we entered the lab, Mayuri took a brief look around for Okabe before heading up to the roof. I wanted to join her talk with Okabe, but I remembered what she had told me only a minute earlier and I stopped myself. In hindsight, this was probably for the best considering my current memory "issues".

As I stood there another question popped into my head. It had been several hours since the worldline shift occurred. Why hadn't I shared my experience with anyone yet? I thought hard about it for a little bit and I think I got my answer. Truth be told, there was only a small group of people I really trusted wouldn't immediately call me crazy or try to report me to SERN. For better or worse that group was largely limited to the Future Gadget Laboratory. With that decided, I then thought about who I could talk to within the lab. I knew couldn't tell Violet anything. She was clearly already quite hurt at this point and suddenly finding out I was suffering from what's effectively amnesia, would break her heart for sure. Plus I have many difficult questions for her that I really don't feel like asking right now.

After spending some more time thinking, I turn to talk to Daru. I still had a question for him given what Okabe just told me a second ago.

"Daru, what did you guys do with the Phone Wave after we stopped working on it?"

"Phone Wave… you mean that failed remote microwave?"  
"We sold it. I thought Okarin already told you."

"What?!" I screamed for probably the second or third time that day. I really didn't want to believe what I just heard. This was not happening.

"Kurisu, please calm down a bit."  
"If you keep yelling like that you're going to shatter a window."

"Okay you sold it. But… you… you must have some information on the buyer, right?"  
"An address, an email, a phone number. Something?"

"Of course. Why are you-"

"I need to you show me it NOW."

"Fine. If you insist. Just give me a second to pull it up."

He brought up his email inbox and opened two very similar messages.  
After closer inspection, I quickly realized these were actually e-receipts from Japan Post.

"Two? You sent two packages?"

"Well, yeah. We took the machine apart and sold the microwave and cell phone components separately. Okarin wouldn't just sell the device as is. I believe he made up some stupid excuse that we had to do it this way. Something to do with-"

"Do you really think corporate sabotage is out of the question, Daru? The Phone Wave (name subject to change) was a revolutionary idea. If another team managed to get it working, they would receive all the credit and we'd lose out on our patent."

I turn to see that Okabe had finally returned from the roof. He stood a good five feet away from Daru and I. Mayuri was with him too. She looked pretty stressed out. I had kinda forgotten about these two.

"Nice to see you too, Okrain." Daru remarked with a simple eye roll.

Daru then scrolled down a bit on the webpage to the spot where they listed the destination address on both emails. I immediately noticed they were written in English, or at least another European language that used the same Latin characters. I leaned over his solder to get a closer look. The text read the following:

Tina M. Johnson  
General Delivery  
Lyle, Washington 98635-9999  
United States of America

Jonathan F. Titor  
General Delivery  
The Dalles, Oregon 97058-9999  
United States of America

"This…" I was at a lost for words. These two really overlooked something this obvious?

Okabe joined my staring at the monitor. "What with you and the Phone Wave (name subject to change) today, Christina No. 1? It seems to be all you care about." He spoke to me from behind.

"But it is quite impressive, isn't it? Not only did we make a ton of money off our failed invention, but we also maintained the confidentiality of the lab by selling the pieces to two totally different people on two totally different sides of America. Wah, ha, ha, ha, ha."

"You idiot. That's not true at all." I mildly scold him.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's true." Okabe replied in slight annoyance.

"You can see it right there. We sent one package to Washington and the other to Dallas. Those cities are like thousands of kilometres away from each other, right? The names of the buyers are completely different too. What's the big issue?"

"The big issue is you're totally wrong here on both accounts." I bluntly tell him.

"These are American addresses. Last time I checked, it was me who could read English and it was me who lived in America for most of my life." I took a second collect my thoughts before I finished talking.

"The names here are extremely similar, just with the order switched around. Tina, Titor. Jonathan, Johnson. You get what I'm saying? It's the same uncreative person."

Okabe had only two words in response.  
"Coincidence maybe?"

"Okay." I took a deep breath. I knew now this would take a bit more explaining.  
"You see that the third line of the first address starts with Lyle, Washington?"

"Yes, Washington. Home of the White House and..."

"No, Okabe." I stopped him once he trailed off.  
"That's Washington D.C. and this address is actually referring to the State of Washington out on the west coast. On American mail the city goes first, followed next by the state and then the zip code."

"Um, what about Dallas? That's still plenty far away."

"What? The city of cowboys and oil?" I ask him teasingly.  
"That Dallas is in Texas, Okabe. The address we have is in completely the wrong state. Oregon is also on the west coast, it even has a border with Washington."  
"In fact since this person has clearly fooled you so well, I wouldn't be surprised at all if these two towns aren't any more than ten miles from each other."

A few second pass. Okabe opens his month to respond, but Daru beats him to it.

"Holy smokes. Okarin, she's right." After hearing him suddenly interrupt us, Okabe and I turned to look back to Daru at his computer. During our talking, it seemed he had pulled up a map of the Oregon/Washington state boundary. This map clearly showed the relatively short distance between both Lyle and The Dalles. In his browser, he draws a line between the two towns. "A direct path from Lyle, Washington to The Dalles, Oregon is 14.13km or 8.78 miles."

"How.. how long is that by car?" Okabe asked with sweat dripping from his forehead.

With a few keystrokes, Daru has the answer pop up on the screen.

"Hmm… about twenty minutes." He replies with a high degree of disinterest.  
"I take it this is bad?"

"You think?" Okabe says clearly irritated by Daru's sarcasm.  
"When is the second package supposed to arrive at its destination?"

Daru flipped back to the two emails and scrolled back up to the top to receive this information.

"Right. I sent it back on the 10th, so it should be delivered in one or two days according to the post office."

"Hack!" Okabe called Daru once again firing on all cylinders.

"It's hackER." Daru corrected in protest, but Okabe ignored him and continued. "I want you to book me on the next flight to America. Preferably to the nearest major city to those towns. I need to met this new adversaire face to face. No one messes with the Future Gadget Laboratory and gets away with it."

"What am I? A travel agent?"

"Please just do it. Time is of the esense."

Daru quickly sighed before opening a couple webpages displaying a few airline websites.  
"Have you even been outside of Japan, Okarin? Do you have a passport?"

"Yes, I have a passport." He told Daru.  
"I can go home and get it if you need it."

"No… that won't be necessary." Daru said a bit put off by Okabe's response.  
"Still. You have a passport? When did that happen?"

"Long before I met you or Christina No. 1. Did I ever mention the time my family took that trip to Hong Kong?"

"I think a few times in passing."  
"Just how long ago was that?"

"Fall of 1999, I believe. Why do you-?" Okabe begins his question, but stops halfway through it.  
He had seemed to have remembered something. "Oh…"

It took a few seconds, but I soon figured out what he was probably thinking.  
"Your passport expired, hasn't it?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"...and you do realize you can't go into the US without a valid passport, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you just drop this, okay?" I told him with a stern tone.  
"You really don't want to be messing around with the airport staff."  
"They take security very seriously and I hope you don't wish to be arrested again."

I mentally cursed myself for adding the word "again" to that sentence. I got so comfortable arguing with Okabe here I totally forgot this was a completely different worldline. The shenanigans pulled in Los Angeles back in 2010 certainly didn't happen here. There was a few seconds of silence before Mayuri decided to speak up.

"Um, if I could briefly just say something, I-"

Suddenly, Mayuri was cut off by my cell phone going off. I pulled it out of my pocket and glaced at the screen. It was Ruka.

"You guys mind if I take this?" I asked them.

After receiving a collective nod, I press talk.  
"Hello?"

"Hi Miss Makise, this is Urushibara Ruka." I heard him say from the other end.  
"I'm here at the shrine with Violet, I assume you're already aware of her current… situation."

"Yeah, I am. Thank you so much for finding her."

"Don't… don't mention it."  
"I hate to ask you this, but could you stop by soon?"  
"I think she needs to have a talk with you face to face."

"Of course. I'll be right there."

I hang up and made my way to the door when Mayuri ran up to me again.

"Someone found Violet, Kursiu? Where is she?" She asks me half excited and half worried.

"She's apparently with Ruka over at the shrine." I told her.  
"I'm going to go see her, I shouldn't be long."

With that said, I stepped out onto the street.

******  
(Chapter Six: Out Now!)


	6. Chapter 6

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Six

2012.07.21 - 2:49 PM JST  
Saturday

It took about ten minutes, but I did get to the shine. It was in record time too, as I was running most of the way. Ruka was already waiting for me outside with Violet. She still had tears dripping from her eyes, but thankfully it seemed her anger had ran its course. The two of them appeared to just be having a normal conversation when I arrived. However, the mood sadly changed once Violet caught sight of me.

"Hi, sis." Violet said with a long sigh. It was clear she still felt bad about what happened back at the lab. I knew I was treading thin ice here.

"Violet, what happened back there?" I gently asked her.

"You know exactly what happened, it's just as Okabe said."  
"I am culture shocked and I'm not really a true Japanese citizen."

"Kyouma said that? Why? And why do you believe him?" Ruka asked in a bit of shock.

"Because it's true!" Violet yelled once again before calming down again. She began explaining her story to Ruka.

"Long story short, Kursiu got severely sick during a visit here in 1999. I was so traumatized after seeing her in such a state of disarray, I actually swore off ever returning to Japan for ten whole years. Then I heard Kursiu got an opportunity to give her first public lecture here in Akihabara about two years ago. Only at that point did I finally bring myself to come back. Until then, I opted out of every family trip that went anywhere near this part of the world. I've simply never gotten the same cultural exposure at a young age that she did. That's why I find it so hard to live here."

Ruka silently stood there as he fully absorbed everything he just heard. I did this too, though I tried not to show it. Giving this was about me, I should definitely already know all this.

"In the end, my American visa is going to expire on my next birthday. Just like Kurisu's did when she turned 18. Even if I do get a student visa after high school, I will have to move to Japan some day." Violet took another deep breath. "Unless..."

"Unless? Unless what?" I pushed her to finish.

"Well… there's this little thing called the Child Citizenship Act."

"Huh?" Both Ruka and I questioned simultaneously.

"It's a law in America. In short, it states if a child of foreign citizenship has an American parent and is legally living with that parent within the country, they are automatically eligible for American citizenship before they turn 18."

"Oh. I get. You have to choose between Japan and America." Ruka slowly said in realization.  
"Considering how you were raised, that sounds like a really difficult decision."

"You're telling me?" Violet told him, holding back a sarcastic laugh.  
"This could honestly be the toughest decision of my life."

"Are you sure this law even applies to you?" I sincerely ask her. Violet bit her lip.

"I would need to consult a lawyer to be sure, but I have read the article about it on WikiBio."  
"I'm pretty sure it would apply to me."

"Have you tried talking to… Mama and Papa... about this?" I stumbled on my words after remembering that Violet and I were siblings. The look she gave me revealed I asked a touchy question.

"Of course not. You know how patriotic Papa is about Japan."  
"I doubt he would like the idea of me becoming an American citizen."

"Right." I almost whispered my response. This was something I actually should have already knew. Even in my worldline, Papa was still quite proud of his Japanese heritage.  
Some things never change…

Violet then spoke up again. "Point is, this has been on my mind for a while and I've been wrongly keeping my feelings bottled up. I'm sorry for that."

There was a bit of dead space in the conversion. I felt liking saying something, but I didn't know what. Violet scraped her shoes along the ground before finishing.

"We can go back to the lab if you want. I feel much better now."

"Okay." I said in slight surprise. "Are you coming too, Ruka?"

"You'll have to go without me." He told us with a sad expression.  
"My family needs me here right now. I apologize."

"That's fine." Violet replied. "We were just wondering if you were available. Also thanks for calling Kurisu by the way. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Goodbye."

Violet and I both ended our visit with simple "bye" before we began our trek back to the lab.  
When we arrived, Okabe and Daru were still chatting away the the computer. I guess they I didn't hear us come in.

"Shouldn't we tell her parents first? If she just goes missing for a few days, they'll surely notice." Daru asked Okabe.

"Yeah I know. It's also a perfect opportunity for them to say no right off the bat and then our whole operation is ruined." Okabe said in response.  
"Do you have anything good to say, hack?"

"The only good news I can give you is that since she's 18 now, American customs shouldn't have any problems letting her into the country by herself."  
"I still think this is a bad idea though."

"What's a bad idea?" Violet asked half jokingly.

"None of your business, Americanese girl." Okabe barked back at her.

"Great. Now I have my own secondary nickname." Violet announced, her voice full with more sarcasm.  
"First Christina No. 2 and now Americanese girl. What's next?"

"Seriously though. What were you two talking about?" I repeated Violet's question.

Okabe and Daru looked at each other. Daru turns back to us and answers our question.

"It turns out, Mayuri apparently actually has a valid passport. Okarin wants her to continue the plan to travel to America and receive the Phone Wave."

"What? The Phone Wave? Mayuri? America?" Violet asked in confusion. "What's going on here? What did I miss during the last hour or so?"

I take Violet aside and briefly explain the just of what happened while she was gone. She wasn't very impressed much like I was.

"So you want to send Mayuri all the way to rural America all by herself just to recover your stupid failed invention? Without even telling her parents?"

"Well… when you put it that way it almost sounds criminal…" Okabe said while stroking his chin in thought.

"It is criminal!" The three of us yelled at him in response.

"Like any of you can talk. Especially you Christina No. 2." Okabe said with a finger point. "You tried to help my hostage escape. That's direct treason against both myself and this lab. You would be out of work right now if your actions weren't extremely vital to our current cause."

"Right. I did assist Mayuri with applying for that passport…" Violet said with a sigh. She gave Okabe a little cocky smile.  
"What's my punishment then? Am I getting demoted?"

"In fact, you are." Okabe confirmed with a look of disgust. I really hoped this didn't escalate into another argument. "Makise Violet, you are no longer lab member 005 or my assistant." He pauses briefly. "Instead you now being reassigned as Christina No. 1's assistant. Your lab member number will be changed to the value of 00X until we get around to updating the numbering scheme to account for this newly created position. Any questions?"

"Whatever. Like I did much of the actual research." Violet scoffed at him.

At that moment, the door crept open. Mayuri steps into the room. I guess she went out to get something before we came in. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Violet. What came next was something I never would guessed would occur in a thousand years. "Tutturu. Nice to see you'll here, Miss Violet." She said in very shaky English with a thick Japanese accent. "How are you today?"

While I was still processing what just happened, this little bit of English got a standing ovation from Violet. She actually showed a genuine smile this time as she replied to Mayuri's question in English back to her.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

Unfortunately, I wasn't really paying attention to all this. I was still a maybe tad surprised that Mayuri could speak English at all. During this time, I must have accidentally given her a bad look.

"Kurisu? I said something wrong, didn't I?" Mayuri asked me, shifting back to Japanese. Embarrassment filled her voice.

"Well, I-ow!" I go to say something, but Violet cuts me off by stomping on my foot.

"Yeah, Mayuri. You used a future tense contraction instead of a present tense contraction." She told Mayuri. "Other than that you did fine. No biggie."

"Mayuri, did you bring the item?" Okabe called over across the room.

"Of course. Here it is." Mayuri sang back to him. She pulled a shiny brand new passport out from her bag. Okabe ran over to take a look himself.

"Let's see… it certainly looks like the real deal. When does it…?" He mumbles to himself.  
"Ah-ha. Valid from February 22nd 2012 to February 22nd 2017." He walked back so all of us were in view.

"Daru, book those tickets! Mayuri, start packing! You've got a plane to catch!"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold your horses, Okabe. What about us? Shouldn't we go with her?" Violet asked, halting Okabe's plans.

"Your sister pretty much pulled the brakes on that even happening." He told her. "Unless, she's changed her mind."

The two looked at me impatiently, I knew what I had to say.

"Fine, but I'm not going to America for the reasons you might think."

******  
(Chapter Seven: Out Now!)


	7. Chapter 7

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Seven

2012.07.23 - 10:25 AM PDT  
Monday

After Violet and I agreed to go to America and help Okabe, things flew by very quickly. Mayuri did eventually get permission from her parents to go to America and Daru booked then us on a Charlie Air Lines flight to Portland, Oregon leaving the following day. We boarded at Narita Airport and transpacific crossing was actually surprisingly peaceful. We had a departure time of five o'clock in the evening so most of the other passengers just slept for the majority of the ten hour journey. None of us could get much sleep though. I often looked over to that seats beside me. Violet and Mayuri were binge watching Professor Who. It was a British TV series that had gained quite a bit of popularity both in the UK and throughout the world. They were watching the show with Japanese subtitles probably because Mayuri wasn't good enough to understand English at full speed. I could also hear them whispering to each other. It seemed like the two were using the series as a tutoring tool. Mayuri was improving her English while Violet brushed up on her Japanese. Unfortunately, the three of us felt more than a tad jetlagged when we touched down in the States. Thankfully, the customs lines were mercifully short thanks the fact Portland didn't get many international flights at ten in the morning. Mayuri became ecstatic once we left the airport.

"W-we're in America." Mayuri said with joy. She turned to face me.  
"What's next Kursiu? How are we getting to The Dalles?"

"I did some research on that while we were on the plane." I told her.  
"The train doesn't stop where we need to go… and the bus doesn't leave until tonight."  
I paused before continuing. "I guess we're gonna have to bite the bullet and take a cab."

"A cab?" Violet interjected. "Won't that be super expensive? We'd be paying on the mile."

"I know, but we've already put down so many thousands of dollars on those plane tickets."  
"If you have any better ideas I'd love to hear it."

"What's so important about this Jonathan Titor person, anyway?"  
"Okabe sold the Phone Wave to her fair and square. Why is this so important to you?"

"Because the Phone Wave has a hidden capability you can't even imagine." I snapped at her.  
"A capability that some people would kill over."

"Wha- what are you saying, Kurisu?" Mayuri reentered the conversation.

"I'm saying, this person is dangerous and needs to be stopped!" I yell at both at them at full volume. The two gasped in shock.

I immediately regret saying anything and tried to regain my composure.  
"Let's find a taxi." I tell them.

Soon nearly $250 later, we finally arrived in The Dalles. We waved goodbye to the cab driver before regrouping at the public library.

"So we pick up the package from the post office?" Mayuri asked the two of us.

"It was sent via general delivery, according to WikiBio that's how it works." Violet says browsing the page on a library computer.

"Wait. You require ID to prove the mail is indeed for you, right? One of us can't just pose as Jonathan Titor, can we?" I ask Violet in response.

"That's right, we couldn't." She replied.  
"In my opinion, the best thing to do is probably approach our buyer when they came to pick up their package and take it from there."

I didn't want that. If this person knew the Phone Wave was a time machine, approaching them could end badly. However, Violet was right. We couldn't just swipe the package and leave like I wished we could. We really didn't have any other choice.

"Okay. Let's get over there then."

On that note, we headed out and found a conveniently placed bench located right outside the post office. We sat and waited. After only about twenty minutes, Mayuri was already getting restless.

"Can we please do something else? I didn't think I came all this way to sit around." Mayuri said this clearly bored out of her mind.

Violet pulls a twenty dollar bill out of her wallet. She turned to face me.

"Kurisu, why don't Mayuri and I go souvenir shopping? You can hold the fort while we're gone, right?"

"I guess..." I decided not to fight it. I figured I could use some time without Mayuri's impatient wining.

"Got it. See ya later, sis."

"Bye Kursiu."

The two crossed the street and went into one the stores here in the downtown core. I sat there for another fifteen minutes, occasionally seeing the two girls for a few seconds as they went from one shop to the next. It was then when a white cube van pulled up in front of me. I hide my face with a local newspaper as the driver exited the vehicle and went inside. I took a peek and found she was another Japanese girl. Maybe 18 or 19 years old. Overall, she looked familiar for some reason I couldn't put my finger on. The vehicle also was like a small moving van... or truck rather. Not something I would expect just anyone to be driving.

A few minutes passed and she came out with a package in her hands. It was the size and shape of a microwave. I knew it was time. I lowered the newspaper and got up from the bench.

"Excuse me. You're Jonathan Titor, right?" I ask her in English.

"Y-yes. That's me. Do I know you?"

Though she denied knowing me, I didn't believe it. The way she stared at me, it was clear she had seen me before. I knew I had to push hard here. I needed answers and she had to know what was really in that package.

"Don't play dumb. I can tell you know who I am and we need to talk."

I lightly tapped on my wrist like I had a watch on. "Need I say more?"

"Okay." She agreed, now speaking in Japanese.  
"I have a motel room just outside of town, we can talk there."

The woman held open the passenger door of her truck.  
"Hop in."

We left town and arrived a small motel located off the major highways. She parks and we step out. We head to Room 10.  
Once the door shut behind us, the talking began.

"So time travel…" She started. I was so glad this woman was getting straight to the point.  
"I'm sorry for just taking off like that. I really just wanted to see what the 2010s looked like."  
She takes a brief pause. "I can come home with you right now if you want."

"What are you talking about…?" I asked her, confused more than usual. "I just wanted to get the Phone Wave back. I don't…"

There was a dead silence. No one spoke. It seemed we both were a bit shaken up. The other woman was the first to break the silence.

"...You're the Makise Kurisu from this era, aren't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ha. That question alone speaks wonders." She told me.  
"In that case, I suggest you just forget about this conversation. It's better that way."

The woman walks back, to the door and reached out for the door knob.

"Wait." I felt another headache hit me. This one was actually helpful though. It was deja vu activating.

"You're... Amane Suzuha. A time traveller from the year 2036. Daughter of Hashida Itaru."

All sorts of memories from the alpha worldline started flooding into my head. Yes, memories. Not just vague information like before. Many details were still missing, but I got a general idea of what Okabe went through in that other worldline.

"Why… how…" She says at a lost for words.  
"First off, Amane is my mother's maiden name. My family name is actually Hashida."  
"Secondly, you're almost definitely from this time period. How do you know all that?"

Suzuha paused for a second, scratching her head in confusion.

"Hmm... could it be... Reading Steiner?"

"Huh?" It was my turn to gasp in shock.  
"How do you..."

"Like you said, I'm a time traveller from 2036."  
"In the future, you're a family friend of sorts."  
"That's how I know about that."

"Okay..." The word just came out without me really thinking.  
"In that case, would you be so kind to explain why you're after the Phone Wave."  
"It seems you don't even know what it truly is."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I guess I can tell you."  
"You won't believe it but, the reason I was going after it was-"

We got interrupted by a loud series of knocks on the door. After that a booming voice called out to us.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! OPEN UP!"

******  
(Chapter Eight: Out Now!)

******  
^^Quick Author's Note^^

Thank you to the guest who left an encouraging review on  
December 30th 2016. I really appreciate it.


	8. Chapter 8

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Eight

2012.07.23 - 2:21 PM PDT  
Monday

This visit from the police was quite a surprise for both of us. We froze for a second. Suzuha then nervously walked over the door.

I guess since the girl was a time traveller, she had to forge a lot of ID in order to get things like a motel room and that truck which I assumed she rented. Maybe the police were after her about that. I could only imagine the anxiety going through her head as she turned that door knob.

Suzuha opens the door to reveal two tall police officers. They look at her with a dark and serious expression. They seem to vary in age. One was a clear veteran, while the other looked a few years off from being a rookie. Out of the two of them, the older one speaks.

"Tina Johnson, is it?" He asks sternly.

"Yeah… that's me." Suzuha confirms.

"We're officers with the Oregon State Police." The man continued.  
"Could we ask you a few questions? It's regarding a missing person."

"O-of course." Suzuha sounded so relieved as she held open the door for the two giant men to come in. The two officers walk in and spot me instantly. Their tough act was strangely broken by my presence. I hear the sound of ruffling as the younger officer pulls out a piece of paper and holds it out in front of him.

"Kurisu Makise?" He reads my name off questioningly. They both study me for a bit before turning back to each other.

"Looks like a false alarm." The older policeman said. "Phil, why don't you go back to the car and radio HQ. Let them know we found her. I'll take care of the rest."

"Got it, boss." The younger officer ran out through the door. Once he left, I spoke up.

"False alarm? What false alarm?"

"Like I said, we're investigating a missing person report ." The remaining officer told me.  
"It just so happens you were reported missing about half an hour ago. Some witnesses even thought you might have been kidnapped."

"I was reported missing… by who?" I was quite surprised to hear this. Before the policeman could respond, another voice yells from the closed door. This one was female.

"Who do you think?"

The door then flung open again to show Violet glaring at me. She looked ticked. Mayuri also stood behind her. She appeared much more concerned than upset.

"Kurisu! Are you okay? Mayushii was so worried." Mayuri cried out to me, peeking over Violet's shoulder. However, I was too angry at Violet to respond to her.

"Violet? You called the police? Why?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" She asks me aggressively.  
"We saw you just suddenly disappear stepping into a white van. In broad daylight."  
"I thought for sure that you had been kidnapped, so I called the cops. I was scared."

"Okay. Why didn't you try calling me then?"

"I did try that and guess what? Your cell phone's dead."

In disbelief, I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. Sure enough, I was met with a black screen. I trying pressing the power button to turn it on and still no luck. Violet was right. My phone really was dead.

"Oh… ah… I guess I forgot to charge it..." I mumbled out loud. "I've been quite distracted today, haven't I? "

After an eternity of going over what happened, the police were finally convinced this was simply a misunderstanding. During these discussions, I got to hear Violet's side of the story. She did indeed see me take off with Suzuha and then ran over the police station in a panic. Once it was established that my phone was dead, Violet filed a missing person report with the description of the truck. She also insisted on hitching a ride with one of the squad cars looking for me. They spotted the truck sitting outside and the rest is history. As we were all questioned, Suzuha and I tried our best to keep the details at a minimum and only answer what the police asked. This meant lying through my teeth to hide Suzuha's true identity. We had to make up a fake friendship too. Violet still had to act as an interpreter for Mayuri. Regardless, I was once again impressed by how much English Mayuri actually knew. Finally many hours later, the police were satisfied and pulled out from the motel. This just left the four of us standing out in the cool evening air. Suzuha takes one good look at Violet and I. Mayuri too.

"You guys look so tired." She commented.  
"Did you seriously fly all the way from Japan and spend almost a full day here without a whiff of sleep?"

We all nod, our eyelids dropping in drowsiness. I did feel the jetlag catching up to me.

"Talk about pushing yourselves." Suzuha added again.  
"Please. Take my room for a few hours. Get some rest."

"No, we couldn't." Mayuri says in response.  
"It's your room. Mayushii doesn't think it's nice to just take someone's room away."

"Hey, I'm already adjusted to American time. I won't be going to bed until at least 11."  
"It's you that need it right now, not me."

"I don't like this." Violet steps in.  
"I understand you and Kursiu know each other somehow, but aren't we really just a bunch of strangers?"

Suzuha gives Violet a strange look. It was almost saying "you should know me". She then turned away.

"I know Kursiu well enough." Suzuha bites her lip before frowning.  
"Besides, is there anything wrong with trying to be nice?"

Nobody answered her question. Suzhua continues.

"Anyway, I still have some errands to run." She told us, walking back to the truck.  
"Use the room if you want, I'll be back in about three hours."

Suzuha gets in and switches on the engine. She drives away soon after.

"Okay Kursiu, out with it." Violet told me.

"Out with what? What are you-?"

"I'm asking you who that girl truly is."  
"I can tell you're hiding something from us."

"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"What makes you think I'm lying to you?"

"That face." Violet looked at me right in eyes, her voice growing cold.  
"It's the same look you gave Mama all those years ago."  
"When you stole that fifty from her wallet."  
"Now, out with it."

I stood there for a few seconds in thought. Again, that good old question came up. Should I tell these two everything? Worldlines, the Time Leap Machine, SERN, etc.  
After awhile, I finally came to an answer.

"You're… you're better off not knowing what I know." I told her.  
"Trust me, it's not that interesting."

"I don't care if it's interesting!" Violet snapped at me.  
"Kursiu, I can tell you're in a lot of pain."  
"Please tell me. It can't be that bad, can it?"

I don't answer her question and we continue staring at each other. Violet's anger raises again. She looks like she's about to choke me half to death. At this point, Mayuri thankfully intervenes.

"Hey! Stop it you two!" She yells at us in English. We both turn towards her. Violet walks away and takes a breather.

"Come on Mayuri, let's get some sleep."

Without a word, Mayuri is dragged by Violet back into the motel room. They enter the room and as I approach the door in pursuit, I hear the door lock. When I arrived at the door, I tried to open it. Sure enough, locked. I knocked countless times to try to convince Violet to open the door, but I had no such luck. Since Suzuha had the key on her person and reception likely wouldn't give out a spare to just anyone, I decided I would have to wait it out. I sat with my back against the door. Despite how hard I tried, it only took about twenty minutes for me to drift into a deep sleep.

* * *

When I woke up, it was about 4 AM. The first thing I felt was a nice comfy bed. I was no longer laying on the cold hard concrete outside. I open my eyes and see the motel ceiling above me. I also look over and saw Violet fast asleep beside me. Did she bring me in? I was careful to not wake her as I got up and out of bed. I then heard Suzuha arguing with someone outside. They were whispering the best they could, but it was still clearly an argument.

"I thank you two for coming after me, but this is insane."  
"Who knows what will happen if you try to change the past that drastically."  
"There would be countless time paradoxes."

"You're sure about that?" Replied a mature female voice.  
"Kurisu told me a different story. She said that time paradoxes don't exist."  
"If we change the past, the worldline will just shift to reflect what changed."  
"Do you think Kurisu would've built the time machine if this wasn't the case?"

"Okay, okay."  
"What's the plan exactly?"

Suzuha's question is answered by another person, this time a man. His voice instantly clicked in my head.

"The plan, named Operation Forseti, goes like this."  
"First we need to…"

The man continued talking, but I filtered it all out. This was Okabe. He may have sounded a tad older, but I knew it was him. I also placed the other voice in my head as well. I turn back at Violet, still peacefully sleeping on the bed across the room. There was only one possible explanation for this, given what the evidence provided. I test my hypothesis by flinging the door open without warning. This causes the woman from before to release a high volume scream in surprise.

Standing out in the parking lot was Violet and Okabe. By the look of things they were in their late 30s or early 40s. Suzuha was also there, looking like she was about to have a heart attack as well. I gave them an angry glare as Okabe broke the ice.

"Hi, Kurisu. Glad you could make it."

******  
(Chapter Nine: Out Now!)


	9. Chapter 9

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Nine

2012.07.24 - 3:59 AM PDT  
Tuesday

"Aunt Kurisu? How much did you hear?" Suzuha questioned me.

"I heard enough. These two want to change the past." I gestured towards the older Violet and older Okabe. My expression was as stern as ever.  
"May I ask why?"

As Violet opens her mouth to answer my question, I hear ruffling coming from back in the motel room. A teenage voice then spoke up.

"Kurisu? Is that you? How did you get the door open?"

It was Mayuri. In response I turn around in the open doorway. It looks like she was laying on the other bed across from where I had been sleeping previously. Mayuri must have woke up due to the screams from earlier. She slipped out of bed and approached me.

"Hmm… who's this?" Mayuri yawns half way through her question. She was referring to either the older Okabe or older Violet. Her eyes squint as she tries to identify them. For Okabe, the white lab coat was a dead give away.

"Ok… Okarin?! What are you doing here?!"

This was clearly not part of their plan. The three panic. Okabe is the first to respond.

"Errrr… no. I'm not Okarin. Who is this Okarin?"  
"My name is Hououin Kyouma!"

Only after finishing his sentence did Okabe realize he had completely blown his cover.  
He took a futuristic looking cell phone out from his pocket and brought it up to his ear.

"Yeah. It's me. We have a situation. We've travelled back to the year 2012 and my former hostage has caught sight of me. I need you to send a batch of memory erasers on the double. What? No, we can't have her remember this. It could jeopardize the whole mission. Well, I… fine I'll do it if you're that short on supplies. I'll have to try dealing with this another way. Wish me luck. El Psy Kongroo."

After his rambling into an undoubtedly inactive cell phone, Okabe "hangs up" and looks over to Violet for help. Mayuri's eyes follow. She soon identified the other figure too.

"Huh? Violet? You look much… more mature."  
"Are you trying some new makeup?"

Mayuri had no knowledge of the time machine or anything. She clearly thought that this was the same old Violet. The seventeen year old Violet. However, this was not the Violet we all knew. If this Violet's from the year 2036 like Suzuha, that would mean she has an extra twenty four years of memories. That's pretty substantial. Before anyone could react, another person interrupted.

"What are you talking about, Mayuri?"  
"I don't even have any makeup on."

The teenage Violet also gets out of bed. She notices me, still standing half out the door.  
"Kurisu, how did you get in here? Did Tina…?"

Violet trails off as her older self comes into view. They both carefully examine each other. The younger Violet first pushes me out of the doorway and then walks up to her older counterpart.

"Who the heck are you?"

"That's not important right now."  
"We need to talk with Kurisu. Alone."

"No. You can tell me as well."  
"I've had enough of these secrets."  
"Tell me. Who are you?"  
"What do you need to talk with my sister about?"

The older Violet sighs. She was clearly not enjoying this conversation with her younger self. She then turns to Okabe.

"Was I really this stubborn as a teenager?"

"Yeah. You were. Quite sensitive too."

After she received that response the older Violet sighed again. The younger Violet looked at these two in confusion. She clearly didn't understand. She didn't know they were time travellers. Who could blame her for being confused though. Out of context those comments made little sense. The younger Violet then noticed this other person was Okabe.

"Huh? Okabe? How did you get here so fast?"

Instead of answering her question, Okabe looks over to me. It seems he wanted me to fill in the gaps for Violet and Mayuri.

"Tell me. How do you think I got here, Christina No. 1?"  
"How did we get here?"

There was only one true answer I could really give. I had ran out of excuses. It was time to come clean.

"Time travel…" I muttered.

"Huh?" The two girls gasped and looked at me questioningly. Violet's expression was of that of shock. Like she thought I just said the sky was orange. She was going to need some convincing.

"You two arrived from 2036, right? Using a time machine I built?"

They nodded. I had no idea why I built that time machine, but that's what the older Violet said before I interrupted their conversation.

"This has to be a joke, right? Time travel is impossible."

The younger Violet looked around expecting reassurance that I was trying to be funny. None came.

"Kurisu… what's going on? Are you serious?"  
"How would you even know something like that?"

"It's because Kurisu has some dark secrets."  
"Isn't that right, sis?"

The older Violet covers her mouth once she realizes what she had said. It was too late to take it back though. We all fell silent. The younger Violet finally figured it out.

"Sis…?"  
"Wait… that can't mean…"  
"Are… are you me?"

"Look's like the cat's out of the bag." The older Violet replied with a slight smile.  
"It's true. I'm you from twenty four years in the future."

Silence fell again. The younger Violet goes to open her mouth, but her older counterpart cuts her off.

"8-5-7-6."

"Huh?"

"That's our bank pin from back when we were twelve. 8-5-7-6."  
"We've changed it since then, but that's what it was."  
"You wanted proof of who I am and there it is. 8-5-7-6."

"I… I… haven't told anyone that."  
"You're really… me? This isn't a prank?"

"Yeah, I really am you. This isn't a prank."  
"Have any other questions for me?"  
"Ha. Of course you do, but I'm afraid I probably can't answer most of them."

"I need more proof. That… that… could just be a fluke."  
"Show me your arm."

"Huh? What are you…?"

The younger Violet grabs her doppelganger's right arm and rolls up her sleeve. What she finds is a scar about an inch across. She gasps.

"It… it really is true."

The younger Violet let's go of the older Violet and takes a few steps back.  
She explains herself to us.

"I burnt myself on that spot a few months ago with an old hot glue gun."  
"That scar doesn't seem fake."  
"Why are you here?"

The older Violet says nothing to her counterpart. She just looks over at me.

"You have no intention of telling me, do you?"  
"Your special ability. Reading Steiner."

I froze. How did she know that? I guess just like Suzuha I do tell Violet everything sometime in the future. I could barely shake my head in response to her question.

"That's what I thought."  
"Actually that's why we're here."  
"My current self deserves to know what you've been hiding."

"Maybe she does, but I won't let you tell her."  
"Just go away. Hop back to 2036."  
"Take the Phone Wave with you."

The older Violet was furious, but she managed to calm herself down. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out five paper cards then holds them in front of her. Violet's younger counterpart then spoke up again.

"What is this Reading Steiner thing?"  
"What does it have to do with Kurisu?"

"It has to do with her memories." The older Violet robotically responded. She then looked at me for the third time.

"Sis, I have five questions on these cards."  
"Each question is about you and our family."  
"It's all biographical information you should know."  
"If you can answer even one question correctly, Okabe and I will leave."  
"Deal?"

"Deal."

I clearly didn't think my response through. I wasn't thinking. I just knew I couldn't let Violet know the truth. Everybody else was happy. If I just needed to suffer a bit for everyone to be happy, then so be it. Plus how hard could this truly be?

"Okay. First question."  
"What science did you major in?"

"Neuroscience."

I jump a bit at the sound of a "wrong answer" buzzer coming from Okabe's cell phone.  
That was wrong? How? I find out soon enough.

"No." Okabe replied.  
"You may have had an interest in neuroscience, but you ultimately studied physics."  
"That's actually why I recruited you as my assistant, you know. I hate math."

"Question two." The older Violet continues.  
"What is Mama and Papa's current marital status?"  
"Now. In 2012."

"Divorced."

I once again replied without thinking and I'm met with another buzzer. What? I look over at Mayuri and the younger Violet. They were starting to look uncomfortable.

"Mama and Papa are only separated, Kurisu." The older Violet tells me.  
"Big difference."

"Huh?"

"Question three."  
"When is my birthday?"

"Well, January… no… February… um… March…?"

"June! June 30th 1995!"

The younger Violet yells at me with tears in her eyes. This was not what I wanted. She is clearly hurt by me not being able to remember her birthday. What Violet says next hurts me as well.

"If you had amnesia, then why didn't you just say so?"  
"You've been acting differently since Saturday."  
"I wish I had figured it out sooner…"

"I…"

Her words were like a knife through my heart. I had really messed up here. I felt so guilty.

"Question four." The older Violet tries to resume her questioning.  
"What-"

"That's enough, Violet."  
"I think we get your point."

The voice was so familiar I didn't even need to look. It was me. A version of me from the year 2036 to me exact.

"Kurisu? How?" Violet blurts out. The two other time travellers gasp.

"I made three time machines." The other me coldly responds.

******  
(Chapter Ten: Out Now!)


	10. Chapter 10

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Ten

2012.07.24 - 4:10 AM PDT  
Tuesday

After stating that she had built three time machines, my future self continued on to list her inventions to the older Violet.

"Suzuha took the MTM-001."  
"You and Okabe took the MTM-002."  
"And I took the MTM-003."

"Why three?" The older Violet asks this in response.

"They're backups. It's like they say in the military."  
"Three is two, two is one, one is none."

I wasn't sure if that was an actual military expression, but I wasn't in any position to question my older self. Okabe decides to ask this older me a typical Okabe question.

"What does MTM even stand for? You clearly have no taste in names, woman."  
"If you had approached me earlier, we could have made these devices future gadgets."

"Like I wanted my time machines to be in your greedy little clutches." The older me told him off.  
"I only got you involved because I had to. I'm surprised you haven't bought yourself a lottery ticket yet."  
"Is that why you're here? You went a bit far for that."

"No. That's not why we're here." Okabe answers. He turns to me and gives out a stern look.  
"We're here to convince your younger self to return to her home worldline."

This older Okabe walks over to me and speaks to me directly. He seemed a bit sad, quite unlike him.

"Kurisu, I understand you want to keep all of us happy. However, this is not the way."  
"Even here in 2012, your sister can tell something is wrong."  
"You're clearly suffering and you'll continue to suffer well into your 40s."  
"You think that makes us happy? No. In fact, we're miserable too."

I was dumbfounded. I hadn't thought of the real consequences of my actions. I was trying to protect Violet, but maybe keeping her in the dark wasn't the right thing to do. I turn away from Okabe to talk to my sister. Both versions of her looked right back at me. I could only ask them one question.

"Is… is… that true?"

Violet's older counterpart nodded immediately while the younger one just stared at me with the strangest expression. It was halfway between confusion and crying her eyes out. I knew I had messed up. My older doppelganger was starting to get irritated. She must've known what I was about to do.

"If… if you tell her the truth, you'll only be hurting her more."  
"It was a horrible mistake telling Violet in the first place."

I look at my future self, irritated as well. Her arrogance was getting on my nerves. Was this really me from over twenty years in the future? We seemed so different.

"I think we've caused enough heartache as is." I told her.  
"Our true mistake was not telling Violet sooner."

I approach the younger Violet with the most sincere of expressions. When I reach her, she unexpectedly draws me in for a hug.

"You're finally ready to tell us what's wrong?"  
"What this Reading Steiner thing is?"

"Y-yes. O-of course." I barely get out in the tight pressure of the embrace. Violet soon lets go of me and I begin my explanation. I went over everything. Worldline theory, SERN, Reading Steiner, deja vu, etc. We spend almost an hour talking. This included the occasional question from either Violet or Mayuri. When I was finally done, Violet takes one deep breath before speaking.

"Okay then. What's the plan?"

"Huh?"

"You're not too happy with this most recent worldline shift, right?"  
"How can we fix it?"

"Well… first we need to determine the cause of the shift." I told her.  
"Then we can try to reverse it."

"What differences have you noticed so far?" Suzuha added.

"Too many to count." I said with a sigh.  
"But, most of them seem be traceable back to my father."  
"Maybe we should have a chat with him."

"Sounds reasonable." Okabe comments.  
"Why not give him a call?"

"I'm afraid that's not really possible." The younger Violet tells us.  
"Papa is currently at the cottage. I've been calling his cell phone for weeks, but I still haven't been able to get ahold of him."  
"And if the cottage does have a landline, I certainly don't know the number."

"Where is this cottage?" I ask her.

"It's in Idaho. About a six hour drive from here." She replies.

"In that case, you want to leave in at around nine?" Suzuha asks Violet.  
"I need to get some sleep first. Hopefully I'll be ready to hit the road by then."

"Sounds good. What do you think, Kurisu?"

"I agree. That seems like the best course of action right now."

Something seemed off. I took a look around the parking lot and got my answer.

"Wait… how many people can your truck accommodate?"  
"There's like six or seven of us."

"Right. I totally forgot. What can we do about that?" Suzuha mutters.

"Suzuha, you disappoint me." My older self teases her.  
"Did you forget the time machines can travel through space too?"  
"We can just jump to the cottage."

Everyone looked her in a sort of disbelief. I thought she was against us doing this. I guess she had warmed up a bit.

"N-nice plan Aunt Kurisu, but there's not enough seats in the time machines." Suzhua told her.  
"As you know, each unit only has room for two and the one I took is almost out of fuel."  
"I barely have enough to get back home." She pauses for a breath.  
"Why don't three of us take the truck and the rest take the remaining two time machines."

"Your truck can take three people?"

"Yeah, it has a middle seat."

"Oh! Mayushii wants to ride in the time machine!" Mayuri called out.  
"Is that possible?"

Mayuri gave us the biggest puppy face she could muster. My older doppelganger smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Sure. You can take a ride with me." She told her. Mayuri jumps with joy. Okabe and the older Violet looked at each other.

"I guess that's settles it." Okabe says with an amused tone.  
"We have some planning to do."

Suzuha pulls out a map from the truck and we spread it across the ground. According to Violet, the cottage was located along the Payette River near the small town of Letha. We planned exactly what route we were going to take in the truck as well as where the two time machines were going to touch down. A nearby golf course looked perfect. We didn't want to scare Papa by having the time machines suddenly appear right in front of him. We also decided on the touch down time of 10 PM. Therefore there shouldn't be anyone at the golf course when we arrive. However, chances are we'll arrive in Idaho in the truck long before then. In that case, we've decided to approach my father without everybody being there. Once we were finished, Suzuha went to bed to catch up on some lost sleep. After a brief goodbye, my older self and Mayuri headed out to the time machines. Okabe soon followed. The older Violet went to get up too, but her younger counterpart stopped her.

"Hey, did… did… we ever approach Mama or Papa about the Child Citizenship Act?"

The older Violet froze. She looked up at her teenage self. She almost looked afraid.

"I… I… work as a flight attendant." The older Violet tried to form words.  
"Since we're currently employed by a tourism agency, it was a logical next step."  
"I've seen so many places. I've talked to so many people. I…"

"You didn't answer my question." The younger Violet told her.  
"Please do. Don't turn into Kurisu."

"We're talking about your future here. It's... different."

The older Violet got up and left. I turn to the younger Violet sitting beside me. I told her what was probably already on her mind.

"She seemed quite desperate to avoid your question."  
"I would take that as a no."

******  
(Chapter Eleven: Out Now!)


	11. Chapter 11

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Eleven

2012.07.24 - 1:04 PM MDT  
Tuesday

Violet and I stayed up for the full four hours that Suzuha slept. There wasn't much to do over that length of time. We most kept to ourselves, maybe playing the odd game of tic-tac-toe. We also loaded all our luggage into the truck during this time too. While doing this we got a glimpse of Suzuha's time machine which she kept hidden in the back. Violet commented on how dumb she thought this "satellite" looked, but then remembered I was the one who built it. She apologized soon after. When 8:30 finally arrived, Suzuha emerged from her room and we actually hit the road ahead of schedule. Before we knew it we were in Idaho.

Over the course of the trip, Violet threw all sorts of questions at Suzuha. These questions ranged from basic time travel theory to just general day to day life in 2036. Violet also finally learned Suzuha's name wasn't actually Tina Johnson. All things considered, Suzuha did answer the best she could while also staying away from spoilers. Especially considering that fact that she was driving. We were about twenty minutes away from the cottage when Violet turned to me. Since we were sitting beside each other in the truck, we were pretty close.

"Kurisu… what exactly are you planning to ask Papa?"

"Well, I want to know if he's received any dmails." I told her.  
"If he has, it could explain a lot of the changes."

"Dmail… those are time traveling texts, right?"

I nodded. Violet closed her eyes and sighed.

"I see… so you think Papa could be the centre of the changes?"  
"If he got a message it would really mess with things, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess you could say that."

There were many reasons why I suspected that our father had gotten a dmail, only some of which Violet was aware of. In this worldline, Papa was apparently a famous physicist at a reliable American university. He had several ground breaking papers under his belt. This was quite in contrast to the Papa I was used to. In my worldline, he was thrown out by the academic community due to his obsession with time travel research. He actually got jealous of me when I started to challenge his theories. He got nasty. He went crazy. This caused my Mom and I to move out with a divorce not long after. I continued my studies, but I went into neuroscience so I wouldn't follow his footsteps.

If my father somehow kept his sanity, he wouldn't of lost his job. My Mom wouldn't have filed for divorce, at least not right away. Papa would have probably encouraged me to excel in my studies instead of trying to protect his ego. If that happened, I would definitely have gone into physics. Everything fit. Even Violet. If Papa was less nasty to my Mom they would have stayed together longer. I could easily see a second child coming into being. Something must've have happened to Papa to create such a huge change and I wanted to find out what. I then had a sensitive comment to tell Violet.

"You're taking all this pretty well." I told her. "Most people would call me crazy."

Violet scoffed and laughed sarcastically. Her eyes moved towards me.

"Yeah, well, you may not remember me but, you're still my sister." She said to me.  
"I rather believe everything you said is true then believe you're insane."

Violet looked at me and gave me a halfhearted smile.

"Besides, you did present me with some convincing evidence."  
"I can't really argue with my future self."

I cleared my throat. She just mentioned the very thing I wanted to talk about. My voice trembles.

"Are… are you really okay going to a worldline where you don't exist?" I ask Violet sincerely. She shifted her gaze down to the floor.

"You said it yourself, worldline and attractor field theory is not an exact science. This could just an alternate universe existing alongside the one you're from, right? You wouldn't necessarily be wiping me from existence. When you return to your home worldline, I'll still exist in this one."

That was the optimistic version of how things could go down. I wanted to believe it, but my gut told me that the universe was probably much more cruel than that. Though it didn't really matter from an objective viewpoint. If I did carefully send some dmails into the past and fix this, I would still be thrown back into my home worldline. I would be erasing Violet from my life either way. I also never figured out who caused the shift to begin with… or who was after the Phone Wave.

I glanced over at Suzuha. Right. She did try to tell me who asked her to obtain the Phone Wave. That was before the police interrupted. I had to ask her again now, while it was still on my mind.

"Suzuha… you never told me this when I asked, but who exactly asked you to buy Phone Wave from Okabe?"

"Oh? You were the one who asked to do that." Suzuha told me this. She then scratched her head with one hand while keeping the other on the steering wheel.  
"...or should I say you will ask me to do that."

"Wait… the 2036 Kurisu told you to fool Okabe like that?" Violet asked Suzuha in disbelief.  
"I was under the impression that you snuck a ride in the time machine under her nose."

"I thought so too. But then I received a text from her about three weeks ago."  
"I think it must've been a dmail. I was in this time period when it happened."

I didn't like this at all. It didn't make any sense. Did my future self really send Suzuha a dmail? It seemed she could already send dmails. Why would she need the Phone Wave then? She already had three working time machines too. What was going on here?

"Could I see this text?" I asked her, but Suzuha shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. I deleted it few days afterward."  
"You advised to do so in the message."

Part of me kind of expected that response. This was getting suspicious. Was that really me? Was it someone else?

"Are you sure that was me?" I voice my thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. It was even from your future number."  
"Why do you ask?"

"I… just… nevermind." I knew I could probably justify why I felt uneasy about this, but I kept my mouth shut none the less. This was something we should ask about when we meet up with my older self later tonight. It was about this time when Violet pointed at a long dirt road we were approaching.

"Turn left there. We're almost at the cottage."

Suzuha turned left and we proceed up the road. We reach the the address and Suzuha pulled into the driveway. She shifted the truck into park and shut off the engine. Then a man came around from the backyard. It was my father. My heart started racing.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" He yelled over to us. His tone sounded familiar. It was like he was ridiculing me again. All sorts of traumatic images from my childhood flooded into my head. I thought I was ready for this, but I clearly wasn't. As Papa got closer to us, he squinted his eyes and spotted Violet and I. His voice softened.

"Kurisu? Violet? What are you doing here?" He asked us in a confused, but loving tone.  
"I thought you guys were in Japan."

******  
(Chapter Twelve: Out Now!)


	12. Chapter 12

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Twelve

2012.07.24 - 1:39 PM MDT  
Tuesday

Papa just looked at us. He wasn't yelling anymore, he didn't even look angry. Instead he gave Violet and I a gentle smile.

"I'm… I'm sorry about that. I wasn't expecting you two to just show up like this."

The three of us exited the vehicle. My father then spotted Suzuha stepping out of the driver's door.

"Oh? Who are you?"

"My name is Suzuha Titor. I'm a friend of your daughters."  
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Dr. Makise."

I look over at Suzuha from across the hood of the truck. She just combined her alias and her real name. Why did she do that? Did Papa meet Daru? That seemed unlikely.

"It's nice to meet you too, but please call me Shouichi."  
"We're not in a work environment."

"O-okay." Suzuha muttered.

"Not to sound rude, but why are you here? Did you come to visit me?" Papa asked us this. We all nodded.

"I see. Well, you've travelled a long way. Why don't you come inside and-" Papa cut himself off. He looked right at me. His eyes spoke of fear and embarrassment. "Oh my… I'm so sorry Kurisu. I'll… I'll be right back."

My father turned and ran into the cottage. He then stormed back outside before I could even turn to Violet and ask what was going on. Papa had a large box in his hands. It was gift wrapped. He walked up and handed it to me.

"Happy Birthday Kurisu. I'm sorry I forgot to send this over." He said to me.  
"It was my mistake. You deserve it a day early. "

I was on the verge of crying. I didn't care if this box was full of socks and nothing else. The Papa I knew hadn't done anything this thoughtful in nearly ten years. Sure to him it was just another birthday present, but to me it was much more than that. It was actually really heartwarming.

"Th-thank you. Can I open it?" I mumbled as I took my gift. I wondered what he could have gotten me.

"Yes. Of course." He said to me. "It is your birthday tomorrow."

"Right. Today is July 24th." Violet remembered. "I completely forgot."

So did I. I was so preoccupied with shifting the worldline back that I forgot my own birthday was coming up in just a few days. I then scrambled to open my present. I gasped once I saw the contents.

"A suitcase." I said with a smile. I then turned back to my father.

"Yeah. I figured you would appreciate something a little more practical this year." He told me.  
"I've noticed you do a lot of travelling between America and Japan."  
"This is a four wheel suitcase. It's much easier to navigate it around the airport."  
"It also has a built in battery pack for charging your cell phone and an airport security approved lock."  
"This way you don't need to worry about people slipping illegal items into your bag." Papa paused.  
"I still wouldn't leave it in the middle of the lobby though. Someone will just steal the whole thing."

When Papa finished I began to cry. Not only did he get me a thoughtful gift, he seemed to genuinely care about me. Shortly after this display of emotion, Violet walked up to me and grabbed me by the arm. Just like Mayuri back at the motel, I was dragged away from my father. We stopped at a distance of about thirty feet. She spoke to me. Her voice was quiet, but still quite stern.

"Okay. Tell me, sis. How cruel was Papa in your worldline?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Those were tears of joy."

"That's exactly it. The Kurisu I knew never cried like that."  
"I could also tell you were bracing yourself for a confrontation earlier."  
"You said before that you were done keeping secrets. Prove it."

I took a deep breath and looked over at my father again. He was confused, but his expression told me that he was still trying be to happy and pleasant to be around. Who was this man? I then turned back to Violet.

"He… he hates me… and I hate him."

Violet's eyes widened. She went speechless. I knew I had to clarify.

"Well, maybe hate is a bit of a strong word. At least in my case." I whispered to her.  
"Long story short, the relationship between Papa and I is basically nonexistent."  
"But that was in my worldline, I can see things are very different here."

Violet leaned in and hugged me again. She begins to tear up as well.

"I… I can't even imagine that. You fatherless, without me at your side."  
"It must've been horrible."

The hug ends and we both take a step back. I tried to give her some reassurance.

"It wasn't that bad. I… I still had Mom."

I tried to lighten the mood with a smile, but it wasn't really effective. On that awkward note, we walked back over to Papa. His face had shifted to a look of concern.

"What's wrong, Kurisu?" He asked me. "Can... you tell me?"

I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't consult with Violet on what to do in this situation. I really should have. I knew I had to say something though. Before I could speak, Violet butted in.

"Kurisu found a boyfriend in Japan and went through a rough breakup."  
"I've been trying to ease her through it."

Oh. That was the route we were taking. I looked back up at my father.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I wish I could be some help." Papa said to me.  
"I've never been on that end of a relationship."

"It's… it's okay." I managed to get my words out. I was about to make another comment when Suzuha interrupted.

"I hate to get in the way of your family bonding, but did you forget the reason why we're here?"

The answer was yes. I had totally forgotten why we came to see my father in the first place.

"Right. Papa… it's nice to see you, but we do have some important questions for you." I said to him. "It couldn't wait."

"Really? Why don't you three come inside then? The A/C is quite refreshing."

The four of us walked into the cottage and we were blasted with a wall of cool air. I didn't notice how hot it was outside. We gathered around the dining room table. It was time to start the discussion. I had to be direct.

"Papa. This is gonna sound strange, but I want to know the truth.".  
"Did… did you ever receive any weird messages? Anything warning you about the future?"

He instantly went pale. It looked like he did get a message. I thought so.

"I did. About twenty years ago." He told us. "But I kept it a secret. Not even your mother knows about it."  
"How did you find out?"

"I have my sources." I brushed off his question. "What did this message say? Do you still have it?"

"I do." Papa reached into his pocket. I thought he was grabbing his cell phone, but he pulled out his wallet instead. Out of his wallet came an old and wrinkly envelope. Papa then placed it on the table for us. It was strangely a letter from a power company in the Midwest.

"What's this? You received it through the mail?" Suzuha questioned.

"Yeah. This was 1992. What else would it be? Email wasn't really a thing back then." He replied casually.  
"One of you want to open it?"

"I will." Violet said sternly. She took the envelope and pulled out several pieces of paper. A confused expression formed on her face.

"What does this even say?" Violet asked no one in particular. "Most of this is gibberish."

I leaned in over her shoulder. She was right. The body of the letter was simply a random string of letters. No pattern to be found. We look up to our father.

"Violet… start with the first few lines." He instructed her. "What do they say?"

"Enigma settings. III, II, I. 07, 09, 02. MK, OR, HI, FN." Violet read aloud. "What's an enigma? Is it a type of code?"

"That's correct Violet." Papa said with a smile. "It's the name of the coding system used by Nazi Germany during World War II. Apart from that one hint, the entire letter is coded in Enigma. The equipment required to decipher it is also really rare, so whoever wrote this clearly didn't want just anyone reading it."

"Did you decipher it?" I asked Papa. He nodded.

"I did. My translation is on the second page."

Violet switched to page two. She began reading the rest of it.

"Dear Dr. Makise. There is something urgent I need to tell you. I understand you are planning to have a child in the coming months. Yes. I know this. I have access to information you can't even begin to imagine. I am also aware of your passion for your work, especially time travel research."

Violet paused. She looked over at Papa again. He shook his head.

"That was a phase of my research from back in the early '90s."  
"In hindsight, it was all kind of silly."  
"I don't even really believe time travel is possible anymore."

This was hard for both Violet and I to swallow. Violet had just gotten time travel proved in front of her very eyes not even twelve hours ago. This was thanks to that visit by our older doppelgangers. It must've been awkward. I on the other hand, was simply shocked with Papa's stance on this. The Papa I knew was obsessed with time travel. It was what ultimately drove him off the deep end. Hearing him say this was so weird. Violet continued reading.

"I… I respect your efforts in this field, but what you don't realize is that it's eating away at your mental health. You're going to have some serious mental problems ten years down the line. Trust me when I say this. If you continue down this path, you're going to hurt the relationships you hold the most dear. Think of the future of your unborn daughter. Regardless of whether or not you believe me, I beg you to ask people about your behaviour. Maybe even get yourself examined by a specialist. You'll be glad you did. Sincerely, Concerned Citizen."

Violet stopped at the end of the letter. She took a deep breath in. This was definitely a dmail, I could feel it. The trouble was that I had no idea how it was sent or how to intercept it. This message was far too long. The Phone Wave could only send a few bytes of data at a time. So either they sent like twenty dmails or they had more advanced equipment. An image of the LHC popped into my head. Could this be the work of SERN? No. This dmail came from my worldline. In that version of history, SERN had no business with my father. Even if they did, why would they correct his insanity? What motive would they have for doing this? I was left with yet another question that I could not answer. Violet then spoke up and changed the topic.

"Papa… um… I know this is unrelated, but I would like to ask you something."

"Of course. I'm here to listen." Papa replied. "What's up?"

Violet froze. She tried to form words, but nothing came out. Papa interpreted this the way anyone would.

"Violet… is this a personal question? Do… do you want to move to another room?"

"No… it's not that. It's just… I want to talk about citizenship."

******  
(Chapter Thirteen: Out Now!)


	13. Chapter 13

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Thirteen

2012.07.24 - 2:01 PM MDT  
Tuesday

Papa looked confused and I didn't blame him. Citizenship? Why was Violet bringing this up now? I still had a lot of questions regarding the dmail we just read. There were many things I could've said to bring this conversation back on track, but I kept quiet. This was clearly something Violet needed to talk to Papa about. It wasn't my place to interfere. Violet took a deep breath in and then spoke again.

"I'm not sure how to tell you this, so I'll be blunt."

Violet looked down. It seemed like she was struggling to come up with the words. Finally, she found her footing and spit it out.

"I… I… want American citizenship. I don't want to move to Japan after high school."

Papa crouched down to be at Violet's eye level. He wasn't upset, in fact he seemed more concerned than anything.

"Violet are… are you sure you're not being a bit rash here? Japan is your home. I know you haven't spent much time there, but at least give it a chance."

"That's exactly it." Violet responded with a hint of anger. "I have given Japan a chance and nothing good has come out of it. Over the past two years, I've made several attempts to adapt to life in Tokyo. I really have. But I always land up back on the plane within a month."

"Well, maybe Tokyo just isn't for you. There are plenty of rural communities in Japan too."

Violet was starting to get really angry. She brought out a great deal of aggression into her next statement.

"Papa, I've lived in large cities my entire life. That's not the issue."

"Then what is the issue? Please tell me."

Papa was weirdly calm. He wasn't even raising his voice. This allowed Violet to cool down and think more rationally.

"It's… it's the culture. I simply can't adjust."

Violet took another deep breath before continuing. Her voice softened.

"Papa… I… I know you consider me completely Japanese in every sense of the word. I look Japanese, I have a Japanese passport, I'm even able to speak Japanese at a much higher degree than most foreigners."

Violet stopped and sighed. She was getting to the tough part now.

"The problem is I don't really feel attached to Japan culturally. Deep down inside I know I belong in this hemisphere."

Papa bit his lip. He stood up and placed his hand on Violet's shoulder before speaking.

"Violet… is… is that how you really feel? How… how long have you felt this way?"

"Well, I've felt like an outsider ever since I first returned to Japan back in 2010. However, I didn't come to this conclusion until a few months ago."

Violet's response was weak, but firm. This must've been a signal to Papa that her position on this was solid and not open for debate. He then looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm sure you're aware of this, but the American immigration process is quite rigorous. You often have to prove your worth to them. I had to jump through hoops just to get my current visa after your mother and I separated."

"Well, I have looked into this. There is a way I could gain American citizenship without going through immigration, at least not completely."

Violet swiftly pulled out her cell phone. She fiddled with it a bit and handed it to Papa.

"Wanna take a look? I have an article saved on my phone."

Papa accepted Violet's cell phone. He squinted his eyes to read the text on the small screen.

"Let's see… Child Citizenship Act…"

Papa proceeded to skim through this article for a few minutes before handing the phone back to Violet.

"As you know I'm no lawyer, but this certainly is an interesting find. Violet, you fit this eligibility criteria almost perfectly. I think-"

Papa cut himself off again. He looked troubled. We all knew why.

"Violet… I… I hope you know that your mother and I didn't give you Japanese citizenship just because I'm proud of my country. When you were born, I didn't think we would land up living in America permanently. I thought both you and Kurisu would grow up in Japan and possibly leave when you were older. The job offer from the unversity kinda came out of nowhere."

"Papa, I know what you're getting at." Violet told him.  
"I don't blame you for this decision at all. I just want your help fixing it."

Papa stood up from his crouching position. He then looked over at Suzuha and I.

"I'm sorry. You two haven't really had a chance for input since we changed topics." My father apologized.

"It's fine." Suzuha told him. "It really isn't our place to comment on this."

"That's right." I added. "This is something strictly between you and Violet."

"Ha. Nice to see you're both so understanding."

Papa lightly chuckled and then turned to Violet. What he said next must've been a huge relief for her.

"Violet, I know someone in the immigration department. I'll see if I can get the ball rolling on this. You have my support. If you truly want to live here permanently, I'll make sure it happens."

Violet walks up and gives Papa a big hug. After the discussion on citizenship, our visit became very social and we lost sight of our mission to fix the timeline. Before I knew it, seven hours had passed. It was nine o'clock now. I sat outside, watching the beautiful July sunset in front of a camp fire. Violet and Suzhua were making s'mores together. Papa came back outside with several buckets of water. This was just in case the fire got out of control. He set the buckets down next to the firepit and sat on the bench beside me.

"You seem down, Kurisu. Is something wrong?"

I probably was giving off that sort of aura. Truth be told, I simply felt uncomfortable. This version of Papa was an angel when compared to the monster that nearly choked me to death at the top of the Radio Building. I didn't know what to say to him half the time and part of me still expected him to be violent. Even now, I imagined him smacking me across the face in rage. I push this image out of my mind and scramble to come up with a response.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking of that letter from earlier."

This wasn't exactly a lie. The dmail was still on my mind too. Papa took a deep sigh. He once again pulled the envelope out of his wallet.

"Honestly, this letter still gives me the creeps. This person knew too much." Papa told me.

"Really? What did they know that was so secret?" I asked him.

"Well, that's not that it was a secret. More like there's no way anyone could know this stuff." Papa said to me.

"To start off, I first received the coded version of this in January of 1992. It just so happened a friend in the math department bought an Enigma Machine a few weeks later in February. That's actually how I finally got the message decrypted." Papa stopped. He looked deep into my eyes. "But that purchase was on impulse. The guy said so himself. How would our mystery writer know that I would get access to an Enigma Machine weeks before it even happened?"

"I see." I said to Papa. He continued.

"Then there's the fact the letter refers to you as my "unborn daughter". When I originally got this in the mail, your gender was still unknown. You think they would've put "unborn child". Then there's also the part where it talks about my mental health issues. When I did eventually ask people about my behaviour, your Mom was just picking up on it. Any questions?"

"No, but thanks for going into detail like that, Papa."

He stood up and lovely patted me on the shoulder. A small smile formed on his face.

"You're welcome." Papa replied to me. "You're morbidly curious. That's what makes you a great scientist."  
"Now if you can please excuse me, I need to get some more wood for the fire."

Papa then walked over towards the shed, presumably where he kept the firewood. I knew the ten o'clock rendevous was approaching. I pulled out my cell phone to check the time and realized that I still hadn't charged it. My phone was still dead. I shook my head and then looked up to Violet and Suzuha.

"Do either of you have the time?" I asked them.

"It's 9:25." Both replied after checking their phones.

"Okay. Finish up eating. We need to leave soon."

I then instructed Violet and Suzuha to clean up and head back to the truck. It was about this time when Papa came back with firewood. He set the wood a few feet away from the firepit.

"Oh. Where did the other girls run off to?"

"They're over at the truck. Violet and I are going to go out to town with Suzuha. We should only be a few hours."

"At this time? Are you sure?"

Papa looked skeptical. It was quite late, but I was sure something had to be open. Papa then reached into his wallet and pulled out thirty dollars in cash and handed it to me.

"Huh? What's this for?"

"It's money for a birthday cake, Kurisu. Why don't you visit the grocery store and pick one out?"

I open my mouth to tell him that this wasn't necessary, but Papa spoke again before I could get the words out. It seemed he already knew what I was going to say.

"Kurisu, I know you're twenty years old as of tomorrow. But that doesn't mean you've outgrown being my little girl. Please take the money."

This wasn't good. I was starting to tear up again. I desperately wiped my eyes with my sleeve.

"T-thank you." I weakly responded.

I took the money and turned to walk back to the truck. Suzuha started the engine once I was within view and I climbed in. I was very conflicted and I really didn't want to talk to anyone. Violet and Suzuha quickly got the message and didn't try to make small talk with me. Suzuha just backed out of the driveway and we began our drive over to the golf course. We were going to meet up with the two time machines.

******  
(Chapter Fourteen: Out Now!)


	14. Chapter 14

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Fourteen

2012.07.24 - 9:55 PM MDT  
Tuesday

We arrived at the rendezvous point with about five minutes to spare. The time machines were meant to touch down at ten o'clock on the dot, so all we could do was wait. Usually I would feel really uncomfortable going onto private property like this. We were trespassing. We could get arrested if someone found us here. All this was at the back of my mind, but I wasn't wasting my energy worrying about it. I was far more concerned about what just went down at the cottage. Papa was nice to me. He accepted me for who I was. Did I really want to go back to the previous worldline? I was so conflicted.

Once the five minutes had passed, I heard a whooshing sound followed by a bright flash of rainbow coloured light. The two time machines appeared and the doors slid open. The older Violet and Okabe stepped out and greeted us. My older self then emerged from her time machine, alongside a smiling Mayuri. I guess she really did land up enjoying the ride.

"Kurisu! Violet! How did that visit to your father's house go?"

That innocent question from Mayuri really broke something inside me. I realized I would never see Papa again if I went back. He was insane and imprisoned in Russia. Even if I got a visa and managed to get permission to see him, would I really want to? I fell to my knees in tears. Suzuha and the younger Violet came to my side. They were with me at the cottage, so they were aware something was wrong. Especially Violet. She knew everything. I sensed my older self walking up to me. I look up at her and she smacked me across the face. Everyone was shocked.

"I understand what you're going through, but we need to stay strong." She told me. "This worldline is a lie. It's cheap and unearned."

"Really? Why should I have to earn the love of my own father? Why should I go back to a worldline where he hates me?" I wait a few seconds and I then stood up and slapped my older self across her face. This was in response to her lack of an answer. "Well? Tell me!"

"Is that what you're basing your this outburst on? You think you'll stay here and spend more time with Papa?" She closed her eyes and sighed. "I think you need to know that his days are numbered. Papa dies in 2015."

"Wha… what?" A deep wrenching pain formed in my chest. He… dies? And only three years from now? I… I didn't want to see that. He was too kind and compassionate. I said nothing. I didn't have the energy to muster up a response. Okabe and the older Violet nodded in confirmation. Mayuri and the younger Violet also freaked out, much like I did. My older placed her hand a my shoulder.

"You need to be careful. I also thought that everyone would be happy if stayed here and played along." She told me. "Things are never that simple though. My miserable mood was contagious and it spread around. No one was ever truly happy. Not Violet, not Okabe, not even Mayuri. If you continue down this path, it will be the end of you. The end of us. Trust me on this."

I couldn't think of anything to say to this. I guess this worldline wasn't as wonderful as I thought. My older self was painting a rather dark picture. No one would be happy. That's not what I wanted at all. I wanted everyone to be happy. I didn't think this worldline would be so sad and depressing. Maybe I should change it back. Maybe this was the right thing to do.

With tears still in my eyes, I informed everyone of what happened at the cottage. I told them that Papa did get a dmail, but it was very long. The Phone Wave couldn't have sent the whole message all in one go. It was also sent through the mail, so there was no phone number to track it from. It seemed like a dead end, but then Okabe asked me something I hadn't thought of yet.

"I find it hard to believe that this one dmail is to blame for all our problems." He told me. "Are you sure there's no changes unrelated to your father?"

I thought long and hard about this. Nothing was coming to mind. Then the older Violet spoke up with something her had just remembered.

"Oh. Didn't you mention that Okabe had Reading Steiner back in your worldline? Well, now he doesn't. That doesn't sound related to Papa."

"You're right." Okabe noted. "How did I originally acquire this power, Christina No. 1?"

"You told me that you got really sick sometime during your childhood." I told him. "That apparently resulted in your special ability."

"Well, that's helpful." Okabe growled in annoyance. "I didn't go into any further detail, did I?"

"No. You didn't." I said sternly. "But let me ask you this, do you remember getting sick?"

"I… don't." Okabe muttered to himself. "Do you remember me getting sick, Mayuri? Like really sick?"

"No. Mayushii doesn't remember anything like that."

"That's probably because it never happened." The older Violet jumped in. She then turned to me. "I think you're onto something here, Kurisu."

"Yeah. This also explains how you got Reading Steiner." The younger Violet commented. "Remember when I was telling Ruka about that horrible cold you caught back in 1999? That must've been the sickness Okabe was supposed to catch."

"I suppose that makes sense." I told everyone. I was distracted though. Something about the year 1999 seemed familiar. Then it hit me. "Okabe, didn't your family also travel to Hong Kong that year?"

"Yes. My father won second place in the lottery and he used some of the money for…" Okabe trailed off, his eyes widening in the process.

"What's wrong, Okarin?" Mayuri chipped in. I wanted to know to what was wrong as well. We soon found out.

"He won that money through the lottery, right? The number he used for the ticket. My father got it from an email he received. Do… do you think that was a dmail?"

"It's certainly a possibility." My older self answered. "May I ask why this has never come up before?"

"You've never been open to discussing this before." He told her. "That's why."

"Is there a chance that this email still exists?" I asked Okabe. "Would your Dad delete it?"

"I don't think he would delete it. Especially after he won all that money." Okabe paused to collect his thoughts. His eyes widened in realization. "Say, do you know where the Phone Wave (name subject to change) is right now?"

"Yeah. I have it in the back of the truck." Suzuha gave Okabe a confused gaze.

"Go and get it. The cell phone that I included with it is from my father. I got it as a hand me down."

We ran out to the truck. Suzuha opened the back door and grabbed the package with the cell phone in it. She ripped it open and pulled the phone out for everyone to see.

"And I thought 2010s tech looked ancient." Suzuha turned the cell phone on. She wore a puzzled expression. "What's the password, Uncle Okarin?"

"Password…?" Okabe was confused. He walked over to take a look for himself. "Right. This is Dad's business phone. Of course it would have a password. Try entering…"

Okabe trailed off just as he was getting to the important part. He then looked over at Mayuri.

"Mayuri, did I ever tell you the password? It's been so many years since I last used this phone."

"Hmm… I don't think so." Mayuri answered. Okabe then turned to the younger Violet.

"What about you?"

"No. I don't know the password either." Violet said this with a shake her head. Everybody sighed.

In order to get access to the lottery email, we needed that password. Only the present day Okabe knew the password though. We had to contact him. Suzuha tried calling the present day Okabe multiple times, but it kept going straight to voicemail. Honesty, it was more than a little frustrating. We spent about an hour trying to call him and we eventually gave up for the night. My older self felt that I had the situation under control and she decided it was time to return to 2036. This included Suzuha. The four time travellers prepared to make the 24 year jump home. The older Violet then made a passing remark.

"This was fun, I can't wait to get back to the streets of New York." She told us. "I love showing those Japanese tourists around the Big Apple."

The younger Violet looked shocked. I did too. This morning we were told that Violet became a flight attendant. Now she was a tour guide? The worldline must've shifted. My older self was surprised also, but she was much better at hiding it. Reading Steiner can really be curse.

"You're… you're an American citizen?" This was the question we were all asking. The older Violet covered her mouth in surprise.

"Oops. That was a rather large spoiler. Sorry about that."

"No. I'm happy you slipped up there." The younger Violet said with a smile. "I've always wanted to live here permanently."

"Yeah, I know." The older Violet laughed. "You still shouldn't know too much about the future though."

She then climbed into her time machine, followed by Okabe and my older self. Their time machines then faded and disappeared into the same rainbow coloured light we saw before. It was now Suzuha's turn. Suzuha told me that she really wanted to stick around, but there was four of us and only three seats in the truck. One of us couldn't come, Suzuha had to go. I promised that we would return this rental truck for her. Suzuha then hopped into her time machine. We saw the light show one last time and Suzuha jumped back to 2036. Three of us remained. I then turned to Mayuri and Violet.

"Let's go back to the cottage."

I walked passed them and opened the driver's door. I was about to place the key in the ignition when Violet stopped me.

"What… what do you think you're doing?"

I honestly didn't get this question. I gave her a puzzled expression.

"I'm starting the engine, of course."

"That's exactly it. Are you planning to drive us too? Kurisu, you don't have a driver's licence."

"Huh?" I almost doubted what I heard. What did Violet mean I didn't have a driver's licence? I immediately dug into my wallet looking for proof that she was wrong, I couldn't find it. Just as I getting used to this worldline, it had to throw another curve ball at me. I was a bit embarrassed. Violet then took out her wallet and showed me her driver's licence.

"Scoot over." She told me. I obeyed her and Mayuri sat in the passenger seat beside me. The middle seat felt so uncomfortable. How did Violet stand this for six hours? Speaking of Violet, I handed her the keys and she started up the truck.

Suzuha had left the radio on a generic pop station. As Violet pulled out of the golf course's parking lot, the music stopped. A series of irritating tones replaced the music, followed by one longer tone. I was about to change the channel when that tone stopped as well. An eerie robotic voice then filled the air.

"The following message is transmitted at the request of the United States Government. At about 8:45 PM PDT, an airliner of foreign nationality entered American airspace over Washington State without any contact with air traffic control. This aircraft has proceeded inland and is now in Idaho's airspace. It is not clear whether or not this is accidental or an act of terrorism. Repeat, it is not clear whether or not this is accidental or an act of terrorism. While the intentions of this aircraft are unknown, precautions are being taken in case it is declared hostile. Fighter jets are currently shadowing the airliner, but citizens are being advised to stay inside. Go to the basement or the lowest floor in the building. Get under sturdy furniture if possible. Please stay tuned to local media outlets as more information comes in regarding this developing situation."

This was followed by another series of tones and then pop music started up again. Other then that, there was silence. Mayuri was the first to speak up.

"What was that?" She asked us. Her English wasn't that strong, so she probably didn't understand the whole broadcast. Violet beat me to answering her question.

"That was the Emergency Alert System." She told Mayuri. "It was just informing us of some incident that's occurred aboard an airliner."

"Oh." Mayuri instantly frowned. I guess she was expecting something a bit happier than that. Mayuri then switched to a puzzled look.

"Wait… Emergency Alert System… is that like the American version of J-Alert?"

"Yeah. Something like that." I answered. "Except it's strictly TV and radio. America doesn't have large speakers just lining the every street."

"Right. Got it." Mayuri really was oblivious sometimes. She just got informed that something bad has just happened onboard an airplane and now she was smiling again. It all went in one ear and out the other. Mayuri was too innocent for her own good.

"Anyway, we really need to get back to the cottage now." Violet interrupted my train of thought. "If Papa heard that broadcast, he's gonna be worried sick."

Violet was right. We needed to get over there. With that said, Violet continued speeding towards our destination. Meanwhile, we had no idea what was going on 30,000 feet above our heads.

******  
(Chapter Fifteen: Out Now!)


	15. Chapter 15

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Fifteen

2012.07.24 - 11:35 PM MDT  
Tuesday

I looked at the clock on the truck's radio as we pulled into the cottage's driveway. It was almost midnight. Even if Papa didn't see the Emergency Alert, he'll be wondering why we were out for so long. Mayuri and Violet followed me as we exited the vehicle. The three of us walked up to the door and knocked, Papa answered the door with a look of relief.

"Violet. Kurisu. Thank goodness. I was afraid something happened to you two. You heard about that airline hijacking, right?"

Papa held open the door and we stepped inside. We took off our shoes and entered the living room. Mayuri's bright blue outfit caught Papa's eye.

"Oh? Who's this? And where's Suzuha?"

"Suzuha had to go home." Violet answered him. "We dropped her off at a bus stop and picked up Mayuri here."

"Mayuri?" My Father questioned. He turned towards her. "I think I heard of you from Kurisu. You're the girl that likes sewing, right?"

"Yep. Mayushii can do a lot with a needle and some cloth." Mayuri replied happily. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Makise."

"Nice to meet you too, but please call me Shouichi." Papa told her. It seemed like the start of a lovely conversation until the TV grabbed our attention. It was left on the whole time, but we became distracted when the news came on. In hindsight, I'm glad we stopped to watch it. The camera zoomed in to the lead anchor.

"This is a special report from ATV News in Seattle. An hour and a half of terror is now over. The foreign airliner that violated American at 8:30 this evening has been safely escorted into Boise Airport by the National Guard. We have our reporter Henry Gordon covering this story from the airport terminal now. Henry."

They then switched to a view of a male reporter with a crowded airport terminal behind him. I was a bit surprised they were able to get a reporter there fast. How long had it been since the airplane landed? The reporter then started speaking.

"Thanks Robert. It is quite the mystery as to why this aircraft landed up where it did. According to authorities this was All Japan Airways 431, a domestic flight between the cities of Sapporo and Naha. This is usually about a five hour trip. It is baffling how exactly the airplane made it across the ocean and how it obtained the fuel to do so. There are fears this could still be an attempted hijacking. Both pilots have been taken in for questioning by the FBI and the aircraft's black boxes have been removed. It is unclear what customs officials will do with the passengers. This being a foreign domestic flight, many of them are Japanese nationals who don't have a passport to present. There are suggestions that they should be flown back to Japan, but this has raised concerns as well. It is possible that…"

It was at this point when I zoned out and shifted my focus to the background. There were two men standing a few feet behind the reporter, their backs were turned to the camera. They looked just like Okabe and Daru. But it couldn't be them, right? Why would they be on a flight between Sapporo and Naha? Mayuri soon noticed this too.

"Hey… is that Daru and Okarin?" Mayuri asked with a finger point. "I thought they couldn't come to America."

"You're right, those two look just like them." Violet commented "Do you think…?"

"Surely not." I shot down this idea. "What are the chances of them boarding this one flight that just so happened to…?"

The two men then turned their heads just enough for us to see their faces. I couldn't believe what I saw. It really was Okabe and Daru. What were they doing there? I reach for my cell phone for the third time today and remembered it was still dead. I groaned and smacked my forehead. I really need to charge this thing soon. I looked over to Violet.

"Violet, call Okabe right now." I told her.

"Right. Of course."

She did as I asked and it went straight to voicemail again. Same thing happened when she tried calling Daru. It looked like we had go to the airport ourselves.

"What's going you guys? What does this have to do with Okabe?"

"We think we saw him in the background of that shot." Violet explained. "We're trying to contact him to make sure he's okay."

"Oh. Well, Boise is only an hour away from here. If you leave now you should make it before he goes anywhere."

"Really? How do we get there?" Why I asked this with a bit too much force, but we needed him to give us the password for the cell phone. Papa scratched his head.

"If you take Interstate 84 eastbound, you should be taken right there."

That was it, we were going. The three of us waved goodbye to Papa and we headed over to Boise. I tuned in to a news channel using the truck's radio so we could keep up to date. In about forty minutes, we arrived at the airport. The parking lot was packed and we had a hard time finding a spot. We finally did park and I pretty much flew into the airport lobby, with the other two girls following no too far behind. I reached the security barrier and I was stopped there. I had to explain to airport security that I knew someone on the flight. This allowed Mayuri and Violet to catch up. They allowed us into the terminal, if we went through the metal detector. We did this and ran into the terminal. It didn't take long to find Okabe with his big white lab coat. We approached him from behind.

"Okabe!"

He turned around and looked at us in shock. He really wasn't expecting us to show up, did he? He called Daru over and we got straight to business.

"I got the Phone Wave back as you asked Okabe." I told now. "Now we need the password for the cell phone." I held up his father's phone to his face. Okabe gave me a puzzled look. I toughened up my stare back at him. That managed to loosen Okabe up a bit.

"Sure. I guess I can log in for you. Why do you need it?" He took the phone and started typing. I just shook my head.

"It's a long story."

Okabe finished logging in and handed the phone back to me. He was still was expecting me to ask him why he was on that plane. Though I was curious about that, it wasn't important right now. I needed to get to the bottom of this worldline shift once and for all. This was our last chance to find out what happened.

"It's all just a collection of old emails from the early 2000s." Okabe added. "I doubt you'll find anything interesting."

I shook my head and scrolled down to 1999. There were four emails from an unknown address. I clicked on them and saw exactly what I wanted to see.

Date: 1999/09/17 - 5:21 AM  
From: hououin_kyouma_ii  
To: Okabe Grocery  
Subject: (no subject)

N250 Lottery: 892451885977188.

Date: 1999/09/17 - 5:21 AM  
From: hououin_kyouma_ii  
To: Okabe Grocery  
Subject: (no subject)

Time for a family vacation?

Date: 1999/09/17 - 5:21 AM  
From: hououin_kyouma_ii  
To: Okabe Grocery  
Subject: (no subject)

Sent using Email 2.0 - Public Build 5

Date: 1999/09/17 - 5:21 AM  
From: hououin_kyouma_ii  
To: Okabe Grocery  
Subject: (no subject)

[MMLII/V/XII]

The first two emails were kinda what I what I expected, but the last two mystified me. I never heard of this Email 2.0 and an internet search from Daru revealed no results. The sending email address also concerned me. Hououin Kyouma… was this really Okabe? Did he wipe his memories by ridding himself of Reading Steiner. That's impossible though, Okabe told us he destroyed the Phone Wave in the last worldline. Did… he lie to everyone?

At that point I decided I needed to calm down. Analyzing these emails could wait a bit. I trying asking Daru and Okabe about why they were on a flight on Naha, but they refused to answer.

"Wait until we're out of the airport." Daru told me. "Then we'll tell you."

This answer frightened me a bit, but then the rational part of my brain took over. I knew these two men were a lot of things, but they weren't terrorists. Okabe and Daru must've had good intentions, assuming they even had anything to do with what happened on the plane.

It was announced that the Japanese consulate in Portland was issuing temporary passports for everyone who needed one. On that note, I told Okabe to met us at a certain hotel once he and Daru got out of here. Violet and Mayuri followed me back through security and we drove over to this hotel in downtown. I don't know about the other two, but I was glad to finally sink into a nice comfy bed. I had been up since 4 AM at that point, and it was almost 1 AM the next day. I needed some sleep. I booked out a room for the three of us and gracefully slipped into unconsciousness.

I got up at seven with the blinding sunlight in my eyes again. Mayuri and Violet must've been early risers as they were already awake. Okabe and Daru were waiting at our door when I woke up. I quickly got dressed and Mayuri let them in.

"So… what were you doing to that plane, Okarin?" Mayuri asked him. "Do you know why it came to America?" Okabe started up his evil laugh again.

"Wuhaha. You don't understand do you?" Okabe slowly walked back to the door and locked it. He then slowly walked back. Okabe also lowered his voice a notch.

"We directly caused this incident to occur." He told us. "It's all part of our mission to spread chaos and disorder to all parts of the world."

Violet and I looked at him with blank expressions. He was serious? How did they do something like this without getting caught? Actually, nevermind. I don't think I really want to know. Daru then found another fine opportunity to make a sarcastic comment.

"Come on, dude. Are you really so much of a coward that you're too afraid to admit that you were worried about their safety? You called each of them like fifty times, I think."

"Well, I… them… you…" Hououin Kyouma was broken as Okabe struggled to figure out what to say. He suddenly gave up. "Fine. I was worried about you guys, okay?"

"Okarin..." Mayuri trailed off. Violet and I didn't really know how to respond either, so we simply kept quiet. This only lasted until there was a giant thud on the floor above us. We were on the top floor though. The only thing above us was the roof. The five of us rushed into the stairwell and up only one more flight of stairs. We got outside and were shocked at what we saw. It was another time machine. Okabe and Daru had obviously never seen this before, so they were scratching their heads wondering what it was. I couldn't help but wonder who it was this time? The nameplate clearly read MTM-004. Another vision of me, perhaps? No. The door opened and two teenagers stepped out, one boy and one girl. They looked kinda like Okabe and I. The resemblance was quite striking. Then it hit me. No… it couldn't be.

"You're Kurisu and Rintarou, right?" The boy looked at us. We nodded and he took a breath. Little did I know, my fears were about to be confirmed.

"Good. I'm Hibiki and this is my sister Asuka." The boy motioned over to the girl beside him. "I hate to be so blunt, but I thought you should know that we have just come from the year 2052. And… and..."

Hibiki couldn't finish his sentence. He let his sister take over. She looked nervous too.

"And we're also your children."

******  
Who are Asuka and Hibiki?  
Find out more in my other story: The Next Generation

******  
(Chapter Sixteen: Out Now!)


	16. Chapter 16

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Sixteen

2012.07.25 - 7:15 AM MDT  
Wednesday

My mouth hung open in shock. These two kids were… my children? They came from the year 2052? What… what are they doing here? There were so many questions I wanted to ask them, but Okabe then shifted into Hououin Kyouma mode.

"Mahaha. Is this a test, Christina No. 1?" He asked me jokingly. "I must admit you hired some pretty good… actors…"

Okabe quickly trailed off when he realized that I didn't plan this. His expression changed to match mine. How do you react to meeting your own future children? As I thought about this more, Asuka walked up to me.

"Mom, we've been asked by your future self to help you fix the timeline once and for all."

"How…?" I somehow get my words out. "We're not even sure who started all this. How do we know they won't just make everything worse than it already is."

"That's because we did all this, Mom." Asuka told me. "Hibiki and I. We rebuilt the Phone Wave."

"What...?" I could believe my ears. They rebuilt that monstrously? I forcefully grabbed Asuka by the shoulders. I was pretty angry.

"Why would you do that?! Do you have no common sense?! Did I teach you nothing about the dangers of time travel?!" I yelled this while tightly gripping Asuka and shaking her with all my strength. All I got was a soft whimper in response.

"Mom, y-you're hurting me." Asuka looked at me and started crying. Another knife went right through my heart. I just shook my own daughter until she cried. Similar images popped into my head from my own childhood. What kind of mother am I? Was I no better than my abusive father?

"I… I…"

There was nothing to say, nothing to do. Without thinking, I let go of her and took off into the stairwell. I just kept running, and running, and running. I didn't stop until I reached the third floor. I didn't have the guts to go back up there, all I could is stand there and sulk. A few minutes passed and I heard a pair of footsteps approaching me. I turn and see Hibiki. My… son. He looked kinda like Okabe, minus his goofy grin. Hibiki paused and then ran over. He hugged me gently as my tears continued.

"It's alright Mom, let it all out." Hibiki whispered in my ear. "The best way to deal with grief is to cry."

"Hib… Hibiki…" I whispered back to him. "What do you think of me? What does Asuka think of me? Was I a terrible mother to you guys?"

"Haha." Hibiki gave out a dry laugh. "I don't know where you got that idea. If anything, you over spoiled us. You gave us everything we wanted, within reason of course."

"Really?"

My crying stopped and Hibiki broke the hug. He then placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Mom, you're the best mother Asuka and I could ask for."

A small smile formed on my face . Hibiki offered me a napkin to blow my nose and we headed back up to the roof. We arrived there, with everyone waiting for us. I walked right up to Asuka.

"I'm… sorry about shaking you like that. There was no excuse for it, no matter how angry I was."

"Apology accepted, Mom." Asuka told me. "Now it's time for me to return the favour with Operation Zeit Journey!"

"Zeit?" I questioned. What could that mean? I got my answer soon enough.

"It's the German word for time." Hibiki explained. "We're going to take our time machine back to 1999 and 1992. We want to fix this, remember? We stopped here just to pick you up."

"Why didn't my future self tag along with you guys then?" I asked them. Asuka shook her head.

"You really think you're going to be that energetic at the age of 59?"

That's right. I would by 59 in 2052. Boy that felt like a long time away. I guess that's probably because it was.

"Anyway, hop in Mom." Hibiki encouraged me. "You'll be back in the original worldline before you know it."

I take one step towards the time machine and bite my lip. I looked back at Violet. She looked sad. She may never see me again. I'm her sister, of course she would be sad to see my go. I there anything I could do? Words clearly wouldn't be enough. I then had an idea. I turn to Asuka again.

"How many seats does your time machine have?" I asked her.

"Four." Asuka told me with a confused glare. "Why?"

"I would like us to make an additional stop and I would like Violet to tag along." I told her. "Would that be a problem?"

"N-no. We can do that." Hibiki answered. "You're the boss, after all."

Violet nervously approached the time machine and carefully stepped in. I followed her in. Hibiki and Asuka boarded as well. They closed the hatch, with Okabe and Daru waving goodbye.

"Okay. Where are we going for this pitstop, Mom." Asuka asked me this once we were sealed in. I took a deep breath in.

"My apartment in Tokyo. July 20th."

"July 20th? You mean this year?" Hibiki asked me. I nodded.

"Yes. Try to set us down at around 7 PM."

Hibiki got my postal address from me and entered it into a computer to convert it into coordinates. Then we finally took off. The ride only lasted about a minute though. Before I knew it we were on the roof of my apartment building. I told Hibiki and Asuka to stay with the time machine while I escorted Violet down the stairwell.

"This is last Friday, right?" Violet looked at me questioningly. "What are doing here, Kurisu? I can tell you're up to something."

"We're here because I care about you, Violet. I want to leave this worldline on a high note."

As the two of us approached the door to my apartment, Violet realized something.

"Wait a minute… this is Friday. You didn't start acting weird until Saturday morning. Does that mean…?"

"Yes. The Makise Kurisu behind that door should be your true sister. The one that existed before came along. Memories and all."

"Kurisu… I… don't know what to say." As Violet said this tears began to form in her eyes. I smiled.

"I'll give you an hour." I told her as I hid behind a corner. "Have fun."

I heard Violet walk up to the door and knock. The door unlocked a few seconds later, and I heard my voice greet her.

"Oh. Hi Violet. I didn't know you were stopping by."

"Me either." Violet said with a giggle. "I was just in the area and I thought I would stop by and say hello. Do you have an hour?"

"Of course I have an hour for you, sis. Come on in."

I got out of my hiding spot once I heard the door close. I decided to take the elevator down to the main floor instead of bugging Asuka and Hibiki on the roof. I wait an hour reading a few newspapers and headed back upstairs. I spotted Asuka and Hibiki walking down the hall with Violet. I freaked out a bit.

"What are you two doing down here?" I asked them, a bit on the aggressive side. "I thought I told you to stay on the roof."

"Yes, but that was over an hour ago." Asuka told me. "We were worried."

"F-fair enough." I replied, feeling a bit stupid. "What are we doing next?"

"First thing." Hibiki told me. "We need to stop Grandpa Okabe from getting that lottery number."

******  
(Chapter Seventeen: In Progress)


	17. Chapter 17

Trapped in a Strange New World  
Steins;Gate  
Chapter Seventeen

1999.09.16 - 10:20 PM JST  
Friday

I nodded when Hibiki told me this. I guess that made sense. We headed up to the roof and jumped back to the evening September 16th 1999. It was the day before the lottery number dmail. Asuka and I left our landing site and explored the streets of Akihabara. Hibiki and Violet prepared the time machine to launch again.

"Asuka, how are we going to prevent this dmail?"

"We're going to send Grandpa a few dozen emails with fake lottery numbers. Hopeful this will convince him that this is a scam and he won't buy a ticket."

"Makes sense." I commented. "But how are we going to send those emails? Neither of our phones will work here."

Asuka gave me a look of realization. She clearly hadn't thought this through. She then turned to a stranger who was just walking by.

"Excuse me, do you have a cell phone that I can borrow?"

"Oh... sure." The boy reached into his pocket and handed Asuka his cell phone. That was easy.

"Let's get to work." She said, turning back to me. Spent the next few minutes composing emails to Okabe's Dad. We would make up a random number send it to him, delete the message from this person's outbox, and then do it again. We stopped on the thirtieth email. We were satisfied that the worldline had changed. Asuka and I handed the boy his cell phone back and walked back to the time machine.

"Oh, that was quick." Hibiki noted. "Are we ready to go back to 1992?"

"Yes, we are." I confirmed this with a nod. I then remembered something. "That dmail was sent through the post, right? How do we know when to go?"

"The truth is, we don't." Asuka told me. "The letter was sent from America though. A letter from the US to Japan would usually take about a week back in the 1990s. We'll use that as a benchmark."

"So, we're gonna travel back to the week after you sent this message?" Violet asked her. "And then we keep jumping until we arrive on the day that the letter came in? How are we going to interrupt it?"

"The answer to that question is in your wallet, Aunt Violet."

Violet and I both gave Asuka a questioning look. She smacked her forehead.

"I'm talking about your driver's licence." Asuka explained. "You will walk into the post office and take the role of Grandpa's niece."

"W... why me?" Violet reacted poorly. "Why not one of you?" Hibiki and Asuka shook their heads.

"First off, our family name is Okabe." Hibiki told us. "And we didn't bring any ID either."

"I see..." Violet and I replied. Well, that was that. There was nothing left to do here. We hopped back into the time machine and jumped to January of 1992. We were seven months before I was even born. It felt really weird. I stepped out and took a breath in. It was now winter in Tokyo. The air was suddenly so cold, and it was even snowing. Violet and I branched off and head to the post office.

"Hello. How can I help you?" The postal clerk greeted us.

"Hi." Violet said back. "We're here to pick up the mail for Mr. Makise."

"Huh... I haven't seen you two before. Do you live with him?"

"N-no." I entered the conversation. "We live in America, we're only visiting at the moment."

"Are you family?" The clerk asked us. We nodded.

"Yes, we're both his nieces." Violet told him. The clerk bit his lip.

"Listen. This is against procedure, but I might be able to make an exception here. Can you show me anything that proves a blood connection to Mr. Makise?"

"We share the same family name." Violet explained further. "Here's my driver's licence as ID."

Violet presented her driver's licence, careful to cover the expiry date. The clerk tiled his head a bit.

"English... you don't have any Japanese ID, do you?"

"N-no." Violet mumbled nervously. "My passport is also in English."

"Well, I'm sorry. I just don't know the correct English spelling of Makise."

"Why don't you Goodle it then?" Violet asked this and immediately covered her mouth. She had forgotten that we were in 1992 right now. Goodle wouldn't become a thing until 1998. To be fair though, I would probably would've made the same mistake if I had spoken there.

"What's Goodleing?" The clerk asked us. I panicked a bit.

"It's an Amercian thing." I quickly explained it away. I really hoped he would buy it. The clerk sighed and got up from his chair.

"I'll be right back."

He headed into a back room and came back with a handful of five letters. Violet and I accepted them and thanked the guy for breaking the rules a bit. We miraculously found the dmail within this batch of letters. We then returned to the time machine.

"Boy are the 1990s weird." Asuka softly remarked. "It's like just the 2000s, minus all the technology." She then spotted Violet and I approaching her.

"Oh. Hi, Mom. Did you get it?"

I nodded and held up the dmail in confirmation. Asuka smiled.

"Wahahaha. Excellent. Now time finish this." Asuka's laugh was very similar to Okabe's. It actually startled me a bit. Asuka reached out her hand and I gave her the dmail.

She proceeded to rip it up into little tiny pieces and place it on a snowbank right beside her. Hibiki then pulled out a match and lit the dmail on fire. It burned for a solid two minutes. During this time couldn't help but look at Violet. Her entire existence was going up in smoke. I know I asked before, but was she really okay with this? I didn't have the courage to ask this time. Once it finished burning, we buried the remaining letters in the snow and hopped back in the time machine.

When we jumped, a beautiful rainbow light entered the cabin. We all looked at each other in awe.

"What's this?" I asked Hibiki and Asuka. They shrugged.

"Not sure." Hibiki answered me. "I guess it could be time rewriting itself."

I looked over at Violet again. She returned my gaze with a smile.

"This is where we say goodbye." Violet whispered to me. "Asuka and Hibiki are really wonderful kids, you know. You should be proud."

At this point, the light started engulfing my version. I could feel that something was about to happen.

"Bye, sis. Hope you have a fun and happy life."

"Same." Asuka and Hibiki added. "See you in 2037."

I felt three pairs of hands hug me, just to fade away a few seconds later. I snapped back to reality and found myself on a train. What was I doing here? I checked the date and time and my phone. It was July 25th 2012 at 8:56 AM. Based on this information, I was likely on my way to the lab. I got off at Akihabara Station and headed straight there. When I entered the lab, the lights were turned off and all the curtains were closed. This was strange. Did all the lab members go out or something? I was out of the loop thanks to Reading Steiner.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I called out to the empty room. The response I got back was unexpected.

"Surprise!"

I jumped when I heard the five voices that screamed this at me. The lights flipped on to reveal the six other lab members equipped with birthday hats and noise makers. The was also a cake on the kitchen counter. This was a surprise party... for me? I should've been happy, but I wasn't. I needed to figure out if this was the correct worldline. I grabbed Okabe by the arm and dragged him to the roof again.

"What... what's this about, Christina? What's wrong with you?"

"Who is Violet Makise?"

"Huh?" Okabe gave me a questioning look. I repeated my question.

"You heard me. Who is Violet Makise?"

"I-I don't know. Is she your cousin or something?"

My heart sank. This seemed to be the correct worldline, but I still felt sad. Violet was gone now. Okabe studied me more. His face went pale.

"R-reading Steiner?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Yeah. I think this is my original worldline though."

"I see..." Okabe trailed off. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not... really." I told him. "Not right now."

"Got it." Okabe replied. "Let me know when you're ready."

Okabe made his exit via the staircase. I looked up at the sky. I hoped Violet was happy, where ever she was. It was about this time when I received an email. I opened it up and was appalled at what I saw.

Date: 2012/07/25 - 10:05 AM  
From: hououin_kyouma_ii  
To: Kurisu  
Subject: (no subject)  
Attachments: voice_file, photo_file

Fresh off the presses of 1973.

Hououin Kyouma II? Asuka sent this? Why? I guess there was only one way to find out. I opened the first file, which was a mp3. What I heard shocked me.

"Hi, sis." Violet's voice greeted me. "If everything goes well, you should be hearing a few hours after you arrive home. I hope you're handling the transition well. There isn't much left to say, I guess. Just know that I love you and want you to be happy. That's why I agreed to be erased like this. Don't beat yourself up over it, okay?This was my choice. If I objected to it, I would've told you a long time ago. Anyway, good luck having Okabe as a husband. Bye bye."

The audio file ended there. I felt a mixture of emotions. Violet really was a good sister, wasn't she? I move the cursor over the select the image file. What came up filled me with joy. It was a group photo with Violet, Asuka, Hibiki, and myself. The version of me was probably from before Reading Steiner. They seemed to be having fun on a tropical island. I was sure there a story behind this, but I didn't care. I was going to treasure this photo forever. I put my phone away and headed back downstairs. It was about time I had some cake.

~The End~

******  
Author's Note:

That's a rap. Addition details will be filled in if you read The Next Generation, but that's not required. I would love for you leave a review with your thoughts if you haven't already. Thank you for reading this to the end and have a good day.

-SGxElPsyKongroo-0-PWxObjection


End file.
